Neuropsychological characteristics of Gulf War illness: A meta-analysis.

Patricia A Janulewicz,Maxine H Krengel,Roberta F White,Emily Sisson,Timothy Heeren,Kimberly Sullivan,Joanna Cirillo,Alexis Maule,Linda Chao

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0177121

Patricia A Janulewicz, Maxine H Krengel + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177121

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Abstract

ObjectiveGulf War illness (GWI) is a disorder related to military service in the 1991 GW. Prominent symptoms include fatigue, pain and cognitive problems. These symptoms were reported by GW Veterans (GWV) immediately after the war and were eventually incorporated into case definitions of GWI. Neuropsychological function in GW veterans has been studied both among deployed GWV and in GWV diagnosed with GWI. Results have been inconsistent between and across GW populations. The purpose of the present investigation was to better characterize neuropsychological function in this veteran population.MethodsMeta-analysis techniques were applied to published studies on neuropsychological performance in GWV to identify domains of dysfunction in deployed vs. non-deployed GW-era veterans and symptomatic vs. non-symptomatic GWVs.ResultsSignificantly decreased performance was found in three functional domains: attention and executive function, visuospatial skills and learning/memory.ConclusionsThese findings document the cognitive decrements associated with GW service, validate current GWI case definitions using cognitive criteria, and identify test measures for use in GWI research assessing GWI treatment trial efficacy.

Highlights

A subset of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War (GW) developed a chronic health disorder, generally referred to as Gulf War Illness (GWI)[1], but sometimes referred to by the name of one of the case definitions of the disorder, chronic multi-symptom illness (CMI)
Decreased performance was found in three functional domains: attention and executive function, visuospatial skills and learning/memory. These findings document the cognitive decrements associated with GW service, validate current GWI case definitions using cognitive criteria, and identify test measures for use in GWI research assessing GWI treatment trial efficacy
Longitudinal studies on this veteran population conclude that most GW veterans (GWV) with GWI have not improved since returning from deployment and may be getting worse over time[3]

Summary

Objective

Gulf War illness (GWI) is a disorder related to military service in the 1991 GW. These symptoms were reported by GW Veterans (GWV) immediately after the war and were eventually incorporated into case definitions of GWI. Neuropsychological function in GW veterans has been studied both among deployed GWV and in GWV diagnosed with GWI. Results have been inconsistent between and across GW populations. The purpose of the present investigation was to better characterize neuropsychological function in this veteran population

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