Journal article
Temporal relationships between Gulf War deployment and subsequent psychological disorders in Royal Australian Navy Gulf War veterans.
DP McKenzie, M Creamer, HL Kelsall, AB Forbes, JF Ikin, MR Sim, AC McFarlane
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | SPRINGER HEIDELBERG | Published : 2010
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although much has been published on the effects of the 1990/1991 Gulf War on the psychological health of veterans, few studies have addressed the pattern and timing of post-war development of psychological disorders. Our study aims to identify the most common psychological disorders that first appeared post-Gulf War, the period of peak prevalence and the sequence of multiple psychological disorders. METHODS: The temporal progression of psychological disorders in male Australian naval Gulf War veterans with no prior psychological disorders was calculated across each year of the post-Gulf War period. DSM-IV diagnoses were obtained using the Composite International Diagnostic Interv..
View full abstractGrants
Funding Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Australian Government, Department of Veterans' Affairs. The first author was funded by a doctoral scholarship from the National Medical Health and Research Council. The Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, of which Professor Creamer is Director, is partially funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Professor McFarlane is Chair of the Mental Health Consultative Group to the Director General of the Health Service Branch of the Australian Defence Force. The above organisations had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. The study was overseen by a Scientific Advisory Committee and by a veterans' Consultative Forum. We are grateful to members of both groups for their contribution and support. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the contact and recruitment team at the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and the staff at Health Services Australia who conducted the medical and psychological assessments. Lastly, but most importantly, we wholeheartedly thank all the participants in the study.