Many Gulf War veterans believe that toxic exposure has caused many ailments. The social discovery of Gulf War-related illnesses is firmly rooted in ongoing disputes. Until recently, the federal government was largely unwilling to admit that such illnesses existed, and even covered up chemical releases that might be implicated. The current belief puts forth a stress hypothesis, arguing against the toxics hypothesis, holding that Gulf War illnesses are a form of typical wartime stress-related symptoms. An intermediate hypothesis links Gulf War illnesses to multiple chemical sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and fibromyalgia, as a multisymptom illness with a combined physiological and psychological basis, but excluding toxic causation. Pressure from veterans groups, intra-governmental disputes, and challenges to traditional epidemiological approaches have driven innovative research directions and challenged the "dominant epidemiological paradigm." Nevertheless, only limited evidence has been found for environmental causation and even some researchers sympathetic to veterans are doubtful that much more will be found. Still, researchers examining toxic causation have a difficult time getting funds and respect for their work. Data comes from ethnographic observation of a Gulf War-related illnesses research center, federal conferences on Gulf War illnesses, interviews with scientist, veterans, and government officials, and government documents and scientific reports
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will learn about conflicting political, economic, and scientific agendas that make it difficult to study potential environmental causation of symptoms and illnesses experienced by Gulf War veterans. 2. Participants will learn a general model for researching conflicts over environmental causation of illnesses.
Keywords: Gulf War, Environmental Exposures
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.