The Gut-Microbiome in Gulf War Veterans: A Preliminary Report.

Janulewicz Janulewicz,Heeren Heeren,Lasley Lasley,Seth Seth,Horner Horner,Quinn Quinn,Sullivan Sullivan,Carlson Carlson,Chatterjee Chatterjee,Klimas Klimas,Ajama Ajama

doi:10.3390/ijerph16193751

Abstract

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptom disorder affecting the central nervous system (CNS), immune and gastrointestinal (GI) systems of Gulf War veterans (GWV). We assessed the relationships between GWI, GI symptoms, gut microbiome and inflammatory markers in GWV from the Boston Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC). Three groups of GWIC veterans were recruited in this pilot study; GWV without GWI and no gastrointestinal symptoms (controls), GWV with GWI and no gastrointestinal symptoms (GWI-GI), GWV with GWI who reported gastrointestinal symptoms (GW+GI). Here we report on a subset of the first thirteen stool samples analyzed. Results showed significantly different gut microbiome patterns among the three groups and within the GWI +/−GI groups. Specifically, GW controls had a greater abundance of firmicutes and the GWI+GI group had a greater abundance of the phyla bacteroidetes, actinobacteria, euryarchaeota, and proteobacteria as well as higher abundances of the families Bacteroidaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Bifidobacteriaceae. The GWI+GI group also showed greater plasma levels of the inflammatory cytokine TNF-RI and they endorsed significantly more chemical weapons exposure during the war and reported significantly greater chronic pain, fatigue and sleep difficulties than the other groups. Studies with larger samples sizes are needed to confirm these initial findings.

Highlights

Gulf War Illness (GWI), a debilitating multi-symptom illness, has affected and altered the quality of life for thousands of US Gulf War veterans (GWV)
Of the 230 GW veterans recruited into Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC), 196 met Kansas criteria for GWI and 34 did not meet Kansas GWI criteria or Kansas exclusionary criteria and were considered healthy controls
Dialister was statistically significantly less abundant in GWI and no gastrointestinal symptoms (GWI-GI) compared to GW controls and GWI and GI symptoms (GWI+GI) (p = 0.008 and p = 0.003). The findings from this small pilot study suggest that the gut microbiome is significantly different in veterans with GWI+/-GI and GW veteran controls

Summary

Introduction

Gulf War Illness (GWI), a debilitating multi-symptom illness, has affected and altered the quality of life for thousands of US Gulf War veterans (GWV). 700,000 troops from the US were deployed to the Persian Gulf and the estimates are that this illness afflicts a third of those who were deployed [1]. Following the end of the Gulf War in 1991 veterans began reporting a constellation of health symptoms from multiple body systems [1,2]. Researchers began what has become a multi-decade long quest to discover the causes of this illness. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 3751; doi:10.3390/ijerph16193751 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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