Stress, Behavior and Health: Developing a Model for Predicting Post-Deployment Morbidity, Mortality, and Other Adverse Outcomes
Abstract
This project evaluates the utility of the Total Army Injury and Health Outcomes Database (TAIHOD) in investigating risk factors for Gulf War Illnesses (GWI) and, in particular, the etiologic role of stress. We have demonstrated that deployed veterans were, in the prewar period, happier and more satisfied than their non-deployed peers, suggesting that if stress is an important risk factor for illness it is likely due to stressors that occurred during or after the war and not to prewar selection bias. We have documented trends in rates of hospitalizations for Gulf War Illnesses (GWI) over a twenty-eight year period, extending the analysis back ten years earlier than originally planned. This trendline shows rates of hospitalizations for symptom-based conditions common among deployed veterans from 1970-1998 and highlights several sources of bias that emphasize the need for careful interpretation of hospitalization data. We have created proxy measures for life stressors and distress (e.g., changes in marital status or number of dependents, occupational problems or prewar health problems) that may partially explain the elevated rates of symptom-based illnesses prevalent among GWE veterans. We hypothesize that stress associated with these experiences may exaoerbate the stress associated with deployment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADB258878
Entities
People
- Nicole S. Bell