Is there a Persian Gulf War syndrome? Evidence from a large population-based survey of veterans and nondeployed controls.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Concerns have been raised about whether veterans of the Gulf War have a medical illness of uncertain etiology. We surveyed veterans to look for evidence of an illness that was unique to those deployed to the Persian Gulf and was not seen in comparable military controls.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS:

Fatality trends in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, 1948-1998.

Abstract

CONTEXT:

The rising number of deaths among United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces after the Cold War has made some troop-contributing countries hesitant to participate in peacekeeping operations. While the number and scale of missions have increased, no data have demonstrated a parallel increase in risks to peacekeepers.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the association of characteristics of UN peacekeeping operations with risks and mortality rates among UN peacekeeping forces in both the Cold War and post-Cold War periods.

Impact of haze from forest fire to respiratory health: Indonesian experience.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

This paper will describe the impact on the human lung of haze from forest fires in Indonesia based on data collected from different provinces.

METHODOLOGY:

Data were collected from personal reports from pulmonologists working in the area as well as from province/district health offices and hospitals.

RESULTS:

These data show that there was a significant impact of haze to the human lung. There was a significant increase in respiratory conditions, lung function complaints and other related impacts.

CONCLUSION:

Loss as a determinant of PTSD in a cohort of adult survivors of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia: implications for policy.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To study the relationship of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to severity of the disaster experience.

METHOD:

A sample of 1785 adult participants of an epidemiological study initiated in the immediate aftermath of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia were interviewed about 2 years following the disaster based on the NIMH DIS-Disaster Supplement. All 154 cases of pure PTSD were compared with 583 controls without symptoms satisfying psychiatric diagnoses of interest.

RESULTS:

Preventing PTSD in trauma survivors.

Abstract

This article highlights some of the core issues in the prevention of PTSD in trauma survivors. A review of some of the noteworthy research is presented along with new directions for research, training, education, and social planning efforts.

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