Long-Term Effects of Chemical Warfare on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Chronic Medical Conditions in Veterans

We investigated the association between exposure to chemical warfare and chronic mental/physical conditions. This was a secondary analysis of data from a case�control study on Iranian male veterans. Participants with neuropsychiatric disorders other than depressive/anxiety disorders, anatomical defects, or malignancies were excluded. Compared to non-exposed veterans, exposed veterans demonstrated significantly higher odds of PTSD OR (95% CI) = 5.23 (1.98�13.85), hypertension OR (95% CI) = 5.57 (1.68�18.48), coronary heart disease OR (95% CI) = 6.8 (1.62�28.49), and diabetes OR (95% CI) = 3.88 (1.35�11.16), and marginally higher odds of moderate to severe depressive symptoms OR (95% CI) = 2.21 (0.93�5.28). This study provides preliminary evidence on association of exposure to chemical warfare with long-term mental disorders as well as chronic medical conditions. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature