Health services use among Gulf War veterans and Gulf War era nondeployed veterans: a large population-based survey.

Abstract

We sought to analyze the self-reported hospitalization, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits of Persian Gulf War (deployed; n=1896) and Persian Gulf War-era (nondeployed; n=1799) military personnel 5 years postconflict to determine whether these groups had different rates of health care use. Compared with personnel who had not been deployed, personnel who had been deployed were more likely to have visited an emergency department (25% vs 21%; odds ratio [OR]=1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06, 1.51]). Among these groups, the National Guard and Reserve personnel were more likely to have been hospitalized than were the regular military personnel (OR= 1.65; 95% CI=1.21, 2.26).