[19970411]97-450SPR_海湾战争退伍军人疾病.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS Web97-450 SPRApril 11, 1997Gulf War Veterans IllnessesC. Stephen RedheadAnalyst in Biomedical SciencesScience Policy Research DivisionSummaryIn 1990 and 1991, approximately 697,000 U.S. troops were deployed in the PersianGulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The United States sufferedrelatively few casualties during the brief air and ground war against Iraq. Since returninghome, however, many veterans have developed illnesses that appear to be related to theirmilitary service in the Gulf. Researchers caution that it may be impossible to identify thecauses of these illnesses because of the absence of baseline data on the health of militarypersonnel and the lack of reliable exposure data. This report provides concise answersto a series of questions concerning Gulf War veterans illnesses, based on currentlyavailable scientific information.BackgroundAlthough the war against Iraq lasted only six weeks, U.S. troops experienced anusually stressful environment and were exposed to numerous known and potential healthrisks in addition to limited combat. These included tempera