Ocular manifestations and biomarkers of Gulf War Illness in US veterans

Autor: Brandon S. Baksh, Kristen L. Zayan, Raquel Goldhardt, Elizabeth R. Felix, Nancy Klimas, Anat Galor
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86061-0
Popis: Abstract Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a multisystem disease with variable presentations, making diagnosis difficult. Non-invasive biomarkers would aid in disease diagnosis. We hypothesized that the eye could serve as a biomarker for GWI. We performed a retrospective case–control study using a sample of 1246 patients seen during a 5-month period in an optometry clinic. We identified veterans who were active duty during the Gulf War Era and either had a questionnaire-based diagnosis of GWI (cases) or did not (controls). Medical records were reviewed for eye and medical co-morbidities, medication use, and retinal macular and nerve fiber layer (NFL) thicknesses based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. Compared to controls (n = 85), individuals with GWI (n = 60) had a higher frequency of dry eye symptoms (50% vs 32.9%, p = 0.039). Multivariable analysis revealed average retinal NFL thickness (odds ratio; OR = 0.95), cup-to-disc ratio (OR = 0.005), age (OR = 0.82), and PTSD (OR = 20.5) were predictors of a GWI diagnosis. We conclude that GWI is associated with dry eye symptoms and RNFL thinning may serve as a biomarker for disease.
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