Public Health
VA researchers find Gulf War-Era Veterans’ health is worse among females compared to males
VA researchers conducted a national study on the health of Gulf War-era Veterans and found that health problems, including migraine headaches, dermatitis, and arthritis, were more common among female Veterans compared to male Veterans. The exception was for certain diseases related to cardiovascular health and diabetes, which are generally more common among U.S. males.
Erin K. Dursa, PhD, MPH, and her research team in VA’s Epidemiology Program, Post Deployment Health Services, found that both deployed and non-deployed females had more health problems compared to males.
Females deployed to the Gulf War were 6.21 times more likely to have repeat bladder infections, 3.27 times more likely to have fibromyalgia, and 1.82 times more likely to have asthma, compared to deployed males.
Females who served during the Gulf War but were not deployed were 4.74 times more likely to have repeat bladder infections, 4.15 times more likely to have fibromyalgia, and 2.09 times more likely to have asthma, compared to non-deployed males.
“Over 40,000 females were deployed to the 1990-1991 Gulf War, serving in a variety of military occupations, an unprecedented event at the time, and little is known about their health,” said Dursa. “This study highlights the fact that female Gulf War Veterans have significant medical needs, particularly among those who were deployed during the war.”
The findings from this study are illustrated in an infographic.
Dursa and her team obtained study findings from a survey that asked about the health and exposures of Gulf War era Veterans at multiple points in time. The findings came from 14,252 Veterans who responded to the most recent survey, 20 percent of whom were female.
Read the abstract with findings from this study, “Health Status of Female and Male Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans: A Population-Based Study.” Read more about the overall study, “Follow-up Study of a National Cohort of Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans.” In addition, VA provides a variety of health care services for female Veterans. Learn about these health care services.
