Military to track Gulf vets' illnesses

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http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/010110/5075747.html

Wednesday 10 January 2001

Military to track Gulf vets' illnesses

Jim Bronskill

The Ottawa Citizen

The Defence Department has proposed a long-term study to determine whether

Gulf War veterans are more likely than other troops to get cancer or die

prematurely.

The department is working with Statistics Canada to devise a protocol for

the project, which could shed light on ill effects experienced by personnel

who served in the Persian Gulf.

" It's worth our while to just see if in fact among Canadians there is any

difference in the instance of cancer or the mortality, " said Cmdr.

Carpenter, head of the public health section in the Defence Department's

directorate of medical policy.

The proposal comes amid fevered controversy about another military health

scare -- the possibility that dangerous levels of depleted uranium pose a

cancer risk to NATO troops stationed in the Balkans throughout the 1990s.

Debate about Gulf War Syndrome has persisted for years.

Some 4,500 Canadians were part of the multinational coalition that fought

Iraq in 1991 and carried out followup missions in the region.

Veterans from many countries have since complained of nagging ailments. Some

believe exposure to chemical and biological weapons, anti-nerve gas pills,

insect repellents or fumes from oil fires have caused their condition.

A 1998 report commissioned by Defence found Canadian Forces members who

served in the Gulf were more likely than other soldiers to report health

problems, including chronic fatigue, anxiety, muscle pain and respiratory

diseases.

The report pointed to psychological stress -- not exposure to dangerous

chemicals -- as the likeliest cause of most of the illnesses.

Under the proposed study, computer database matches would determine the

cancer and death rates among Gulf War veterans compared with a control group

of military personnel who did not serve in the conflict.

It is hoped the matches would be conducted every five years as part of an

ongoing effort to track the health of Gulf veterans.

" Nobody's looked at the long-term health implications, " said Catlin,

director of the health statistics division of Statistics Canada.

" With mortality due to some kinds of diseases and certain types of cancer,

you don't see things until 10 or 15 years later. "

A Statistics Canada committee decided last May that before a final decision

on whether to go ahead with the proposal, approval should be sought from

representatives of Gulf veterans, says a memo obtained under the Access to

Information Act by researcher Ken Rubin.

Mr. Catlin said the project is being guided by an advisory committee

consisting of representatives of the statistics agency, Defence, the

military ombudsman, the Gulf War Veterans Association and a group that

assists retired and injured Forces members.

Once a formal protocol is drafted by an epidemiologist, Statistics Canada

will determine whether permission to link the military and health databases

should be granted. Matching data from different banks is often a sensitive

issue because of privacy implications.

The internal memo indicates the results of the study could take the form of

a report to Defence or a paper published in a medical journal. No data

identifying individuals would be made public.

At least one outspoken Gulf War veteran is skeptical of the project. Louise

, who believes service in the Gulf triggered her many health

problems, said Defence cannot be trusted to manage an independent study of

the issues.

" They have no credibility. So it would be a futile, expensive exercise as

far as I'm concerned. "

Ms. said panels composed of civilians and veterans should be

established to study illnesses reported by veterans of the Persian Gulf and

the Balkans.

Yesterday, Britain became the latest country to make health tests available

to soldiers to ensure they have not suffered ill effects from depleted

uranium, a radioactive substance used in armour-piercing munitions.

In Ottawa, Defence Minister Art Eggleton reiterated there is no need to

introduce mandatory testing of peacekeepers who spent time in the Balkans.

Mr. Eggleton noted Canada had already instituted voluntary tests of

personnel that turned up no evidence linking illness with depleted uranium.

" We're quite prepared to test more, " he said.