Possible exposure to nerve
agents and brain cancer deaths in Gulf War veterans
26 Jul 2005
A new research paper to be published in the August 2005 issue of the American
Journal of Public Health finds that Gulf War veterans who may have been exposed
to nerve agents during the March 1991 weapons demolitions in Khamisiyah,
Iraq, appear to have a higher risk for brain cancer death than veterans who
were not exposed.
Researchers compared the causes of death in a group of 100,487 possibly
exposed U.S. Army Gulf War veterans with those among 224,980 Army Gulf War
veterans who were not exposed to nerve agents released during the demolitions
and found no difference in overall mortality or all cancer mortality.
However, exposed veterans were about twice as likely to have died from
brain cancer as unexposed veterans, corresponding to roughly 12 excess deaths
due to brain cancer among the 100,487 exposed veterans over a 9-year period.
The study's authors said additional research is needed to confirm their findings
of a higher brain cancer death risk for some Gulf War veterans. [From: "Mortality
in US Army Gulf War Veterans Exposed to 1991 Khamisiyah Chemicals Munitions
Destruction."]
Natalie Raynor
Natalie.Raynor@apha.org
202-777-2511
The National Academies http://www.nas.edu
