Citation

Safi-Aghdam H, Shafie M, Khoshdel A, Moazen-Zadeh E, Avakh F, Rahmani A. Community Ment. Health J. 2019; 55(3): 493-496.

Affiliation

Mental Health Research Center, Tehran Institute of Psychiatry, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-018-0277-1

PMID

29691769

Abstract

We investigated the association between exposure to chemical warfare and chronic mental/physical conditions. This was a secondary analysis of data from a case-control study on Iranian male veterans. Participants with neuropsychiatric disorders other than depressive/anxiety disorders, anatomical defects, or malignancies were excluded. Compared to non-exposed veterans, exposed veterans demonstrated significantly higher odds of PTSD [OR (95% CI) = 5.23 (1.98-13.85)], hypertension [OR (95% CI) = 5.57 (1.68-18.48)], coronary heart disease [OR (95% CI) = 6.8 (1.62-28.49)], and diabetes [OR (95% CI) = 3.88 (1.35-11.16)], and marginally higher odds of moderate to severe depressive symptoms [OR (95% CI) = 2.21 (0.93-5.28)]. This study provides preliminary evidence on association of exposure to chemical warfare with long-term mental disorders as well as chronic medical conditions.

Language: en

Keywords

Chemical warfare; Coronary heart disease; Hypertension; Post traumatic stress disorder; Veterans