Source:
CBS News/WebMDStudy: Soldiers Deployed To Iraq Twice As Likely As Stateside Soldiers To Develop Allergies(WebMD) U.S. soldiers who serve in Iraq may be at increased risk of developing allergies, a new study suggests.
A review of the medical records of more than 6,000 soldiers shows that those who were deployed to the Persian Gulf were about twice as likely to have newly diagnosed allergic rhinitis (nasal allergies) after discharge, compared with those who were stationed stateside.
"All of them say they didn't have allergies before (they served)," says researcher Anthony Szema, M.D., chief of allergy at Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, N.Y.
The findings, presented here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunotherapy (AAAAI), held true for both men and women.
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Szema says that the idea for the study came from Department of Defense correspondence that stated that 13 percent of U.S. Army medic visits in Iraq are for new allergies, asthma, and other respiratory ills.
Additionally, after discharge, "soldiers were showing up at VA hospitals complaining of cough, stuffy nose, and wheezing," he says.
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