TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Characterizing deficit accumulation among Gulf War era veterans
JO  - Journal of frailty and aging
A1  - Petry, S. E.
A1  - Thompson, A. D. Jr
A1  - Hauser, E. R.
A1  - Lynch, S. M.
A1  - Boyle, S. H.
A1  - Upchurch, J.
A1  - Press, A.
A1  - Sims, K. J.
A1  - Williams, C. D.
A1  - Gifford, E. J.
SP  - 300
EP  - 306
VL  - 13
IS  - 3
N2  - BACKGROUND: Veterans of the first Gulf War (1990-1991) are reaching middle and older adulthood in differing degrees of health and biological age. Many Gulf War veterans report myriad negative symptoms classified as Gulf War illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom illness. <br><br>OBJECTIVES: To describe and analyze deficit accumulation, among veterans with Severe GWI (SGWI+) and those without Severe GWI (SGWI-), to assess the association between a medically unexplained illness and aging. <br><br>DESIGN: This study uses a retrospective cohort design with quasi-longitudinal data. SETTING: The recruitment sample included 10,042 Gulf War era veterans across all four US Census regions. PARTICIPANTS: The analytic sample included 1,054 participants of the GWECB for whom SGWI case status could be determined and who had valid responses for at least 90% of the deficits included in the deficit accumulation index. MEASUREMENTS: Chronic health conditions were retroactively reported, including year of diagnosis, enabling us to create a longitudinal measure of deficit accumulation. This deficit accumulation index (DAI) ranged from 0-1 for each respondent in each year between 1991-2013. We compare veterans with SGWI+ to those with SGWI- using the CDC case definition. <br><br>RESULTS: Most veterans in our sample could expect to spend more years with moderate or substantial deficits than without deficits. SGWI+ was associated with spending more years with substantial deficits than those with SGWI-. Veterans in middle age (age 35-65) experienced more years with substantial deficits than younger veterans. Individuals with SGWI+ had 13 times the hazard of accumulating substantial deficits than those without. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that veterans with SGWI+, even those in midlife, experienced aging as measured by accumulating deficits. Practitioners should consider patients with multi-symptom illnesses as at risk of accelerated aging, tailoring treatments to address patients' holistic needs.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2260-1341
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jfa.2024.44
ID  - ref1
ER  -