Respiratory disease among military personnel in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield

The purpose of this study was to determine whether respiratory disease due to crowded living conditions and high levels of suspended and blowing sand had a major adverse impact on US military personnel during Operation Desert Shield. A questionnaire survey was administered to 2598 combat troops stat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 1993-09, Vol.83 (9), p.1326-1329
Main Authors: Richards, A L, Hyams, K C, Watts, D M, Rozmajzl, P J, Woody, J N, Merrell, B R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Cough - epidemiology
Gulf War 1991
Humans
Male
Medical research
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Military Personnel
Non tumoral diseases
Otorhinolaryngology (head neck, general aspects and miscellaneous)
Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology
Persian Gulf War
Pharyngitis - epidemiology
Prevalence
Respiratory diseases
Respiratory Tract Diseases - epidemiology
Risk Factors
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia - epidemiology
United States
Warfare
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to determine whether respiratory disease due to crowded living conditions and high levels of suspended and blowing sand had a major adverse impact on US military personnel during Operation Desert Shield. A questionnaire survey was administered to 2598 combat troops stationed in Northeast Saudi Arabia for a mean of 102 days. Samples of surface sand from seven different locations were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. Among surveyed troops, 34.4% reported a sore throat, 43.1% complained of a cough, 15.4% complained of chronic rhinorrhea, and 1.8% were unable to perform their routine duties because of upper respiratory symptoms. Evaluation of sleeping accommodations indicated that complaints of a sore throat and cough were most closely associated with sleeping in air-conditioned buildings; in contrast, complaints of rhinorrhea were associated with exposure to the outdoor environment while living in tents. Sand samples consisted mostly of quartz, with just 0.21% by weight of respirable size (< 10 microns in diameter). These findings indicate that upper respiratory complaints were frequent among Operation Desert Shield troops and were related both to the troops' housing and to their exposure to the outside environment.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.83.9.1326