Summarize

In 1991, the fighting between American and Iraqi forces took an extreme toll on some of our veterans. This study looked at the effects of the conflict on deployed men, versus the health of men not deployed at the time, to study the mysterious "Gulf War Illness" that has plagued many veterans of the conflict. What they found was that most of the Veterans experienced no abnormal symptoms immediately after their tour of duty compared to those who were not sent into action. However, 3-4 months afterward, 50% showed a decrease in general health compared to before they went on duty(Hotopf p.1). The general understanding has been that there was a prevalent change in overall health in Veterans of the Gulf conflict.

The participants in this study included two "cohorts" of volunteers who were given a questionnaire before and after their activation. One cohort was made up...