Health Effects of Depleted Uranium on Exposed Gulf War Veterans: A 10-Year Follow-Up

McDiarmid, Melissa A.; Engelhardt, Susan M.; Oliver, Marc; Gucer, Patricia; Wilson, P. David; Kane, Robert L; Kabat, Michael; Kaup, Bruce; Anderson, Larry W.; Hoover, Dennis J.; Brown, Lawrence M.; Handwerger, Barry S.; Albertini, Richard J.; Jacobson‐Kram, David; Thorne, Craig D.; Squibb, Katherine S.

doi:10.1080/15287390490273541

Cited by 126 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The last possibility for objective exposure assessment would be a post hoc biological measurement such as salivary cotinine for nicotine intake or uranium in urine measurements for veterans with DU exposure, such as from shrapnel (McDiarmid et al 2004). Biological monitoring for most Gulf War exposures has not been developed and is not relevant to most of the exposures of interest.…”

Section: Possible Future Exposure-assessment Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In four of the studies (Fukuda et al 1994;Poirier et al 1998;Hooper et al 1999;McDiarmid et al 2004), exposure was estimated from personal exposure measurements including biological monitoring data, notably for DU (McDiarmid et al 2004). Poirier et al (1998) measured personal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) exposure and DNA adducts and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene glucuronide in soldiers who had been in Germany and then went to Kuwait during the SMOIL episode.…”

Section: Methods Used For Gulf War Exposure Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The challenges of exposure assessment in health studies of Gulf War veterans

Glass

Sim

2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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A variety of exposures have been investigated in Gulf War veterans' health studies. These have most commonly been by self-report in a postal questionnaire but modelling and bio-monitoring have also been employed. Exposure assessment is difficult to do well in studies of any workplace environment. It is made more difficult in Gulf War studies where there are a number and variety of possible exposures, no agreed metrics for individual exposures and few contemporary records associating the exposure with an individual. In some studies, the exposure assessment was carried out some years after the war and in the context of media interest. Several studies have examined different ways to test the accuracy of exposure reporting in Gulf War cohorts. There is some evidence from Gulf War studies that self-reported exposures were subject to recall bias but it is difficult to assess the extent. Occupational exposure-assessment methodology can provide insights into the exposure-assessment process and how to do it well. This is discussed in the context of the Gulf War studies. Alternative exposure-assessment methodologies are presented, although these may not be suitable for widespread use in veteran studies. Due to the poor quality of and accessibility of objective military exposure records, self-assessed exposure questionnaires are likely to remain the main instrument for assessing the exposure for a large number of veterans. If this is to be the case, then validation methods with more objective methods need to be included in future study designs.

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Section: Possible Future Exposure-assessment Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methods Used For Gulf War Exposure Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenges of exposure assessment in health studies of Gulf War veterans

Glass

Sim

2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Despite intensive investigation and monitoring for over 10 years, there is no clear-cut evidence of tissue damage in spite of persistently elevated urinary uranium levels (McDiarmid et al, 2004). The research team has identified some minor immune system changes and subtle changes in cognitive function, but have concluded that these findings are of little or no clinical relevance and certainly do not explain Gulf War syndrome phenomena.…”

Section: Depleted Uraniummentioning

confidence: 99%

Gulf War syndrome – has it gone away?

Tarn¹,

Greenberg²,

Wessely³

2008

Adv. psychiatr. treat

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‘Gulf War syndrome’ was a phrase coined after the 1991 Gulf War. This article looks at the variety of hypotheses that have been put forward about the origins of the concept and the studies attempting to characterise the health manifestations of Gulf service and the lasting effects on veterans. It also serves to bring readers up to date with research on the present deployment in Iraq. Finally, consideration is given to how Gulf War syndrome compares with the rich historical literature of post-conflict medical syndromes and how sociological factors may interact with symptom attribution in veterans.

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“…DU is claimed to contribute to health problems, known as the Gulf War Syndrome and the Balkan Syndrome (Bleise et al, 2003;McDiarmid et al, 2004;Squibb and McDiarmid, 2006). United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported the post-conflict environmental assessment of DU in the Balkan region (UNEP/UNCHS, 1999;UNEP, 2001UNEP, , 2002UNEP, , 2003 and in Lebanon (UNEP, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation dose assessment of exposure to depleted uranium

Gerstmann

Höllriegl

et al. 2008

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Depleted uranium (DU) is claimed to contribute to human health problems, known as the Gulf War Syndrome and the Balkan Syndrome. Quantitative radiation dose is required to estimate the health risk of DU materials. The influences of the solubility parameters in the human alimentary tract and the respiratory tract systems and the aerosol particles size on the radiation dose of DU materials were evaluated. The dose conversion factor of daily urinary excretion of DU is provided. The retention and excretion of DU in the human body after a contamination at a wound site were predicted. Dose coefficients of DU after ingestion and inhalation were calculated using the solubility parameters of the DU corrosion products in simulated gastric and simulated lung fluid, which were determined in the Helmholtz Zentrum Mu¨nchen. 238 U is the main radiation dose contributor per 1 Bq of DU materials. The dose coefficients of DU materials were estimated to be 3.5 Â 10 À8 and 2.1 Â 10 À6 Sv Bq À1 after ingestion and inhalation for members of the public. The ingestion dose coefficient of DU materials is about 75% of the natural uranium value. The inhalation dose coefficient of DU material is in between those for Type M and Type S according to the category for inhaled materials defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Radiation dose possibly received from DU materials can directly be estimated by using the dose conversion factor provided in this study, if daily urinary excretion of DU is measured.

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Health Effects of Depleted Uranium on Exposed Gulf War Veterans: A 10-Year Follow-Up

Cited by 126 publications

References 35 publications

The challenges of exposure assessment in health studies of Gulf War veterans

The challenges of exposure assessment in health studies of Gulf War veterans

Gulf War syndrome – has it gone away?

Radiation dose assessment of exposure to depleted uranium

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