A study examining veterans deployed in the first Persian Gulf War and elsewhere at the same time has revealed soldiers who served in the Persian Gulf have nearly twice the instance of chronic multi-symptom illness (CMI), which is a combination of symptoms often called Gulf War Syndrome.

The study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology

However, the study uncovered CMI in veterans who did not serve in the gulf, prompting the possibility that the Gulf War may not be the only culprit for CMI.

Melvin Blanchard, M.D., associate chief of medicine at the St. Louis Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, says, "We're still not sure whether CMI is due to a single disease or pathological process."

He continues, "But this study has identified an intriguing association between CMI risk and diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorders prior to military service."