Objective: The chronic impact of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and other toxicants on Gulf War (GW) veterans' health symptoms is unclear.
Methods: Building on reports of adverse neuropsychological outcomes in GW pesticide applicators exposed to pesticides and pyridostigmine bromide, we now report on health symptoms in this group.
Results: In adjusted analyses, applicators with high exposures/impact to pesticides reported significantly more symptoms (18/34 symptoms) than applicators with lower exposures/impact and were more likely to meet modified Kansas and CDC Gulf War Illness criteria. The high pyridostigmine bromide exposure/impact group was 3 times more likely to report irregular heart rates. With regard to specific pesticide types, fly baits, pest strips, and delousers were the most associated with increased health symptom reporting.
Conclusions: These results suggest that GW veterans with high acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and organochlorine exposures are most at risk for chronic health symptoms.
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.