Public Health
Research on Health Effects of Gulf War Service
VA and other organizations conduct research evaluating the health effects of Gulf War service during Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.
VA epidemiology studies on Gulf War Veterans
VA's Epidemiology Program conducted a multiyear survey study of Gulf War-era Veterans who served in 1990-1991 to find out how their health changed over time. Researchers conducted an initial survey in 1995, a second survey in 2005, and a third survey in 2012.
Past findings show deployed Veterans reported a higher prevalence of unexplained multisymptom illness and poorer health than non-deployed Veterans.
View more research from the Epidemiology Program.
VA War Related Illness and Injury Study Center research
VA's War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) offers services to combat Veterans, families, and health care providers on deployment-related health concerns. Also, the WRIISC conducts research that looks at post-deployment health issues and medically unexplained symptoms.
Health and Medicine Division
The Health and Medicine Division (HMD) (formally known as the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is a non-government organization that evaluates scientific literature and provides advice. By law, VA contracts with the HMD to scientifically review evidence for possible connections between Gulf War Veterans' illnesses and exposure to toxic agents, environmental or wartime hazards, or preventive medicine during military service.
Find out more about HMD reports and VA findings.
Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
Congress created the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses in 1998 to make recommendations to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs about government research on health effects of military service during the Gulf War. View recently funded research studies and recently published research articles.
Read more about the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses.
Department of Defense
The Department of Defense funds research on Gulf War illness through the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP). The GWIRP has compiled a list of research resources produced from their funding.
Additional Research
You may want to conduct an extensive search on Gulf War Veterans health through the U.S. National Institutes of Health's PubMed.
