Health Consequences of Service During the Persian Gulf War Initial Findings and Recommendations for Immediate Action (1995) / Chapter Skim
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Findings and Recommendations
Findings and Recommendations
Pages 7-17
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From page 7... ...
Finally, we hope to impact in a positive way the health in persons who served in the Persian Gulf War, as well as in those who may follow in other military encounters. Recommendations for immediate action follow based on the findings presented here and the background information presented in the next chapter.
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From page 8... ...
The VA registry data should not be promoted or described as a means to determine prevalence estimates or identify the etiology of a disease, but should be reviewed promptly for enrollment trends and potential sentinel events. The VA should improve publicity regarding the existence of the Persian Gulf Health Registry, and encourage all concerned POW veterans to be registered.
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From page 9... ...
Recommendation · The Vice President of the United States should chair a committee composed of representatives from HHS, DoD and VA to devise a plan to link data systems on health outcomes with the development of standardized health forms, the ability to access information rapidly, and an organized system of records for rapid entry into the data system. Finding 3 The characteristics of the population at risk are critical to any definitive studies of Gulf War health effects.
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From page 10... ...
There may be substantial risk from inappropriate interventions because of adverse reactions to drugs, development of resistant strains of microorganisms, or especially the diversion of attention away from more orthodox diagnoses and treatments that hold some promise of relief from symptoms of a "mystery illness." Recommendation . Decisions to provide funding, to refer patients, or to change usual operating procedures for providing financial support should be based on more solid scientific basis than has sometimes been evident in prior resource allocation.
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From page 11... ...
These studies should undergo appropriate external peer review before, during, and after data collection and analysis. · More staff should be assigned by the Persian Gulf Veterans Coordinating Board in order to monitor, collect, assemble, and make accessible when appropriate all relevant requested emerging data from studies now underway, and make periodic reports to the appropriate federal oversight authority.
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From page 12... ...
An evaluation of the feasibility and need for a longitudinal study should take place coincident with this national survey. Finding 7 Initial characterizations of smoke and unburned contaminants from the oil well fires and other sources are not adequate, nor have the data available been reduced to a format usable for drawing conclusions or conducting health studies.
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From page 13... ...
Recommendation · The VA should plan and provide support for its mortality study to continue in the future in order to permit the detection and investigation of long-term mortality from chronic disease. Finding 9 Although infertility, unrecognized and recognized pregnancy loss, premature delivery, fetal growth retardation, birth defects, and abnormal development are all components of reproductive health, studies and surveillance efforts to date have focused primarily on birth defects, fetal and neonatal deaths, and low birth weight.
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From page 14... ...
A study would permit comparisons of birth outcomes and potential adverse health effects on women exposed at different times in their pregnancies. Recommendation · The Persian Gulf Veterans Coordinating Board should conduct a study to compare women deployed to the PG who were or who became pregnant at any time during the Persian Gulf War with an appropriate group of other women who were pregnant, but did not serve in the POW, to evaluate potential
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From page 15... ...
Unsubstantiated suggestions that they may have chronic neurotoxic effects need to be tested in carefully controlled studies in appropriate animal models. Appropriate laboratory animal studies of interactions between DEET, PB, and permethrin should be conducted.
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From page 16... ...
The DoD Joint Technology Coordination Group II has research responsibilities for infectious diseases of military importance and should give high priority to the development of a screening approach to be used under field conditions expected in deployment, and a useful diagnostic test for L tropica.
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From page 17... ...
Many important questions remain unanswered concerning host species, vectors, and means of transmission to military personnel. The possible role of dogs as reservoirs of disease and the existence of vectors other than sandflies are questions that have been raised.
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