Australian Gulf War Veterans’ Health Study Cohort
This study was designed to investigate whether Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who served in the Gulf War have a higher than expected rate of several adverse physical and psychological health effects and, if so, whether these effects are associated with exposures and experiences that occurred in the Gulf War. The original cohort consisted of the entire deployed group of 1,871 Australian veterans of the Gulf War and 2,924 comparison group members. Australian Gulf War veterans were defined as ADF members who deployed in support of the Gulf War during the period of 2 August 1990 to 4 September 1991 as part of ADF Operation Ozone or Operation Damask, or with overseas forces as part of Operations Desert Shield or Desert Storm. They were primarily naval personnel (84%) and male (98%).
Study design
Cohort, Cohort - occupational
Number of participants at first data collection
4,795 (participants)
Age at first data collection
Varied (participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
2000
Primary Institutions
Monash University
Links
monash.edu/medicine/sphpm/coeh/research/veteran-health/australian-gulf-war-veterans-health-study
dva.gov.au/documents-and-publications/australian-gulf-war-veterans-health-study
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Interview – face-to-face
- Interview – phone
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Self-report questionnaire – paper or computer assisted
- None
- None
- Employer data
- Healthcare data
- Mortality data
Engagement
Keywords
