The Association Between Self-Reported Types of Toxic Exposures and Symptom Severity Among Gulf War Era Veterans

We found a positive association between the number of toxic exposure types and total symptom severity. Veterans who self-reported having Gulf War Illness also reported more types of toxic exposures compared with Veterans who did not report having Gulf War Illness. Radiation and biological agent exposure showed the strongest positive association with symptom scores, yet very few Veterans reported isolated exposure of these types. Our findings suggest that cumulative exposure to multiple types of toxins could be associated with the development and severity of Gulf War Illness symptoms.