Table 1

Prevalence (%) of symptoms present in the past month across UK Study: Gulf, Bosnia and Era Cohorts

During the past month have you suffered from:
Gulf* N = 3,454
Bosnia N = 1,979
Era N = 2,577

Feeling unrefreshed after sleep
56.1
32.5
31.5
Irritability/outburst of anger
54.7
32.2†
25.5
Headaches
54.2
36.5
36.8
Fatigue
51.1
26.9
28.2
Sleeping difficulties
47.8
30.5
28.3
Forgetfulness
44.7
19.4†
16.8
Loss of concentration
39.5
16.6
15.0
Joint stiffness
39.3
20.9
22.8
Flatulence or burping
34.0
15.7†
21.0
Pain without swelling or redness in several joints
31.7
13.7
14.2
Feeling distant or cut off from others
27.9
14.4†
10.3
Avoiding doing things/situations
26.5
12.4†
10.1
Feeling jumpy/easily startled
24.7
12.9†
9.4
Chest pain
24.5
12.5
11.6
Tingling in fingers and arms
24.3
8.4†
10.9
Night sweats that soak the bed sheets
23.7
12.0†
9.5
Itchy or painful eyes
22.9
10.5
11.9
Sore throat
22.3
15.1
13.6
Distressing dreams
21.6
13.1†
9.0
Numbness or tingling in fingers or toes
21.4
8.1†
10.9
Ringing in the ears
20.5
10.8
12.5
Wheezing
20.4
10.1
9.7
Diarrhea
20.2
11.1
11.9
Unable to breathe deeply enough
20.0
9.8†
7.8
Unintended weight gain greater than 10 lbs
18.7
10.8†
8.5
Dry mouth
17.4
9.1†
6.6
Loss of interest in sex
17.3
7.1
6.7
Dizziness
17.0
7.0
7.7
Tingling in legs and arms
16.8
5.4†
6.8
Rapid heartbeat
16.4
7.5
7.6
Feeling short of breath at rest
15.3
6.5
5.5
Increased sensitivity to noise
15.0
6.3
5.6
Increased sensitivity to light
14.7
6.0
5.8
Stomach cramp
14.6
7.8
7.5
Passing urine more often
14.3
4.9†
6.3
Persistent cough
13.9
7.8†
5.8
Loss or decrease in appetite
13.3
8.5†
5.2
Intolerance to alcohol
11.9
5.0
4.0
Shaking
11.6
5.3†
3.7
Constipation
10.9
5.9
5.2
Faster breathing than normal
10.4
4.4
3.3
Feeling disoriented
10.3
3.2
3.5
Feeling feverish
8.7
3.5
3.0
Nausea
8.7
3.7
3.7
Lump in throat
8.0
3.8
3.0
Unintended weight loss greater than 10 lbs.
5.5
3.9†
2.6
Double vision
5.4
2.5
2.1
Pain on passing urine
5.2
2.3
1.9
Burning sensation in sex organs
5.0
1.3
1.6
Vomiting
4.7
3.2
2.8
In general would you say your health is (mean, standard deviation) 1=Excellent, 2=Very Good, 3=Good, 4=Fair, 5=Poor
2.8 (1.1)‡
2.3 (1.0)
2.3 (1.0)

* Gulf War veterans significantly different (p < 0.05) from Era and Bosnia veterans with respect to all symptoms

† Bosnia veterans were significantly different (p < 0.05) from Era veterans.

‡ Gulf War veterans significantly different (p < 0.05) from Bosnia and Era veterans

Nisenbaum et al. Population Health Metrics 2004 2:8   doi:10.1186/1478-7954-2-8