than an actual diagnosis, and so prevalence would be expected to be higher for this measure, rather than for the more comprehensive CIDI DSM-IV diagnosis of alcohol disorders. Self-reported doctor-diagnosis and treatment for alcohol abuse or dependence Twenty (2.9%) Gulf War veterans and eight (1.2%) comparison group participants reported that a medical doctor had diagnosed them with, or treated them for, alcohol abuse or dependency in the period since January 2001, and that they had been treated by a doctor for that condition in the past 12 months. Although the risk of doctor diagnosed alcohol disorders treated in the past 12 months was estimated to be almost one and a half times as high as the risk in the comparison group, this difference between groups at follow up was not statistically significant, (RR 1.45, adj RR = 1.55, 95% CI 0.64 2.81), as numbers were – small. Similar results were obtained for exact Poisson regression, performed due to small cell sizes. The overall levels of doctor diagnosed and treated alcohol disorder was far lower than that of either CIDI-defined alcohol disorders or AUDIT caseness in both groups, suggesting the possibility of a response bias in not self-reporting diagnoses of alcohol disorder at interview, or not reporting alcohol symptoms to medical doctors in the first place, or doctors missing these diagnoses. Association between Gulf War-deployment characteristics and alcohol disorders in veterans at follow up The associations between Gulf War deployment characteristics and occurrence of 12 month alcohol disorders at follow up in male Gulf War veterans are shown in Table 57. Alcohol disorders at follow up were associated with lower ranks, with the highest risks being observed for other rank non supervisory, followed by other rank supervisory, – – when compared with Officers. The overall differences in risk associated with each rank were statistically significant (p < 0.01). There were not any apparent differences in risk of alcohol disorders between age category (p = 0.21), and service branch (p = 0.93). Table 57 Association between Gulf War-deployment characteristics and 12 month alcohol disorders at follow up in Gulf War veterans Gulf War deployment Veterans with 12-month alcohol disorders at follow up characteristic N n (%) RR Adj RR (95% CI) Age at deployment
than an actual diagnosis, and so prevalence would be expected to be higher for this measure, rather than for the more comprehensive CIDI DSM-IV diagnosis of alcohol disorders. Self-reported doctor-diagnosis and treatment for alcohol abuse or dependence Twenty (2.9%) Gulf War veterans and eight (1.2%) comparison group participants reported that a medical doctor had diagnosed them with, or treated them for, alcohol abuse or dependency in the period since January 2001, and that they had been treated by a doctor for that condition in the past 12 months. Although the risk of doctor diagnosed alcohol disorders treated in the past 12 months was estimated to be almost one and a half times as high as the risk in the comparison group, this difference between groups at follow up was not statistically significant, (RR 1.45, adj RR = 1.55, 95% CI 0.64 – 2.81), as numbers were small. Similar results were obtained for exact Poisson regression, performed due to small cell sizes. The overall levels of doctor diagnosed and treated alcohol disorder was far lower than that of either CIDI-defined alcohol disorders or AUDIT caseness in both groups, suggesting the possibility of a response bias in not self-reporting diagnoses of alcohol disorder at interview, or not reporting alcohol symptoms to medical doctors in the first place, or doctors missing these diagnoses. Association between Gulf War-deployment characteristics and alcohol disorders in veterans at follow up The associations between Gulf War deployment characteristics and occurrence of 12 month alcohol disorders at follow up in male Gulf War veterans are shown in Table 57. Alcohol disorders at follow up were associated with lower ranks, with the highest risks being observed for other rank – non supervisory, followed by other rank – supervisory, when compared with Officers. The overall differences in risk associated with each rank were statistically significant (p < 0.01). There were not any apparent differences in risk of alcohol disorders between age category (p = 0.21), and service branch (p = 0.93). Table 57 Association between Gulf War-deployment characteristics and 12 month alcohol disorders at follow up in Gulf War veterans Gulf War deployment characteristic Veterans with 12-month alcohol disorders at follow up N n (%) RR Adj RR (95% CI) Age at deployment
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