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Biomedical subjects

Gregory C Gray

Publications and source records attributed to Gregory C Gray.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Self-reported symptoms and medical conditions among 11,868 Gulf War-era veterans: the Seabee Health Study.

US Navy Seabees have been among the most symptomatic Gulf War veterans. Beginning in May 1997, the authors mailed Gulf War-era Seabees a health survey in serial mailings. As of July 1, 1999, 68.6% of 17,559 Seabees contacted had returned the questionnaire. Compared with other Seabees, Gulf War Seabees reported poorer general health, a higher prevalence of all 33 medical problems assessed, more cognition difficulties, and a higher prevalence of four physician-diagnosed multisymptom conditions: chronic fatigue syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder, multiple chemical sensitivity, and irritable bowel syndrome. Because the four multisymptom conditions were highly associated with one another, the authors aggregated them into a working case definition of Gulf War illness. Among the 3,831 (22% cases) Gulf War Seabee participants, multivariable modeling revealed that female, Reserve, and enlisted personnel and participants belonging to either of two particular Seabee units were most likely to meet the case definition. Twelve of 34 self-reported Gulf War exposures were mildly associated with meeting the definition of Gulf War illness, with exposure to fumes from munitions having the highest odds ratio (odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.5, 2.4). While these data do not implicate a specific etiologic exposure, they demonstrate a strong association and a high prevalence of self-reported multisymptom conditions in a large group of symptomatic Gulf War veterans.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed2002

Are Gulf War veterans experiencing illness due to exposure to smoke from Kuwaiti oil well fires? Examination of Department of Defense hospitalization data.

There has been much concern among the public and veterans that specific environmental exposures incurred during the Gulf War were the cause of subsequent illness among Gulf War veterans. In this historical cohort study, the authors compared the postwar morbidity of US military personnel exposed to smoke from the 1991 Kuwaiti oil well fires with that of unexposed personnel. Complete exposure and demographic data were available for 405,142 active-duty Gulf War veterans who did not remain in the region after the war. The authors used data from all Department of Defense hospitals for the period August 1, 1991-July 31, 1999 to estimate rates of hospitalization due to any cause, hospitalization due to a diagnosis in one of 15 major categories, and hospitalization due to one of nine diagnoses likely to be manifestations of smoke exposure. Exposures to particulate matter from oil-well-fire smoke were based on the integration of meteorologic data, diffusion modeling, and troop location data. The authors constructed seven exposure groups combining duration and amount of exposure. In Cox modeling, three of the 25 models showed an increased adjusted risk of hospitalization. However, there was no evidence of a dose-response relation. Despite some limitations, these data do not support the hypothesis that Gulf War veterans have an increased risk of postwar morbidity from exposure to Kuwaiti oil-well-fire smoke.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Large epidemic of respiratory illness due to adenovirus types 7 and 3 in healthy young adults.

After 25 years of successful control through immunization, respiratory infections due to adenoviruses have reemerged to threaten the health of young adults in the military. Shortly after the loss of adenovirus vaccine supplies, a large outbreak of respiratory illness was observed at the United States Navy's sole basic training center. Laboratory testing confirmed 541 cases of adenovirus infection, including 378 cases due to serotype 7 and 132 cases due to serotype 3. This outbreak was remarkable because of its unique serotype distribution and the large amount of data available to describe demographic factors associated with infection. This was the largest outbreak of respiratory illness due to adenovirus types 7 and 3 documented in recent history, and it portends even greater challenges for young adults in the military in the postvaccine era.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗
PubMed2002

Tuberculosis infection among young adults enlisting in the United States Navy.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a re-emerging infectious disease threat worldwide. To protect the health and readiness of US military personnel, policies exist to screen for and treat latent TB infection at the time of service entrance. RESULTS: of this screening programme have not been recently described. METHODS: Multivariate regression techniques were used to evaluate demographic and medical data associated with TB infection among all young adults entering US Navy enlisted service between 1 October 1997 and 30 September 1998. Results A total of 44,128 adults (ages 17-35, 81% male) were screened for TB during this 12-month period. The prevalence of latent TB infection was 3.5%. Place of birth was very strongly associated with TB infection, with foreign-born recruits eight times more likely to have a reactive tuberculin skin test or history of infection. Those who reported their race as 'Asian/Pacific Island' had 3.8 times the odds of having evidence of TB infection compared with 'Caucasian' recruits, even after adjusting for place of birth. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of TB infection among Navy recruits was last reported as 2.5% nearly 10 years ago. The apparent increase to 3.5% in this large cohort is likely due to a concurrent increase in the number of foreign-born recruits, and it serves to underscore the importance of comprehensive screening and treatment of latent TB infections in this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Ten years and 100,000 participants later: occupational and other factors influencing participation in US Gulf War health registries.

For more than a decade after the Gulf War, there has been concern that wartime exposures have resulted in significant morbidity among Gulf War veterans. After the end of the war, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) initiated health registries to provide systematic clinical evaluations of Gulf War veterans who chose to participate. By September 1999, there were 32,876 participants in the DoD Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program and 70,385 participants in the VA Gulf War Registry Health Examination Program. We identified demographic and military service factors, as well as potential war-related exposures associated with subsequent registry participation after 10 years of observation. Veterans potentially exposed to oil well fire smoke, those near Khamisiyah, Reserve and National Guard, Army veterans, and veterans in the theater of operations during intense combat periods were most likely to elect to participate in a registry. These findings support the hypothesis that certain occupational factors and wartime exposures may influence subsequent health care-seeking behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Molecular epidemiology of adenovirus type 7 in the United States, 1966-2000.

Genetic variation among 166 isolates of human adenovirus 7 (Ad7) obtained from 1966 to 2000 from the United States and Eastern Ontario, Canada, was determined by genome restriction analysis. Most (65%) isolates were identified as Ad7b. Two genome types previously undocumented in North America were also identified: Ad7d2 (28%), which first appeared in 1993 and was later identified throughout the Midwest and Northeast of the United States and in Canada; and Ad7h (2%), which was identified only in the U.S. Southwest in 1998 and 2000. Since 1996, Ad7d2 has been responsible for several civilian outbreaks of Ad7 disease and was the primary cause of a large outbreak of respiratory illness at a military recruit training center. The appearance of Ad7d2 and Ad7h in North America represents recent introduction of these viruses from previously geographically restricted areas and may herald a shift in predominant genome type circulating in the United States.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗
PubMed2002

The millennium Cohort Study: a 21-year prospective cohort study of 140,000 military personnel.

Does military service, in particular operational deployment, result in a higher risk of chronic illness among military personnel and veterans? The Millennium Cohort Study, the largest Department of Defense prospective cohort study ever conducted, will attempt to answer this question. The probability-based sample of 140,000 military personnel will be surveyed every 3 years during a 21-year period. The first questionnaire, scheduled for release in summer 2001, will be sent to 30,000 veterans who have been deployed to southwest Asia, Bosnia, or Kosovo since August 1997 and 70,000 veterans who have not been deployed to these conflict areas. Twenty thousand new participants will be added to the group in each of the years 2004 and 2007 to complete the study population of 140,000. The participants will have the option of completing the study questionnaire either on the paper copy received in the mail or through the World Wide Web-based version, which is available at www.MillenniumCohort.org. This will be one of the first prospective studies ever to offer such an option. The initial survey instrument will collect data regarding demographic characteristics, self-reported medical conditions and symptoms, and health-related behaviors. Validated instruments will be incorporated to capture self-assessed physical and mental functional status (Short Form for Veterans), psychosocial assessment (Patient Health Questionnaire), and post-traumatic stress disorder (Patient Checklist-17). Information obtained from the survey responses will be linked with other military databases, including data on deployment, occupation, vaccinations, health care utilization, and disability. In addition to revealing changes in veterans' health status over time, the Millennium Cohort Study will serve as a data repository, providing a solid foundation upon which additional epidemiological studies may be constructed.

Chronic Disease↗