Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans report symptoms consistent with chronic multisymptom illness one year after deployment

Many Veterans returning from service in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) expe- rience chronic pain. What is not known is whether for some OIF/OEF Veterans this pain is part of a larger condition of dif- fuse multisystem symptoms consistent with chronic multi- symptom illness (CMI). We use data from a prospective longitudinal study of OIF/OEF Veterans to determine the fre- quency of CMI. We found that 1 yr after deployment, 49.5% of OIF/OEF Veterans met criteria for mild to moderate CMI and 10.8% met criteria for severe CMI. Over 90% of Veterans with chronic pain met criteria for CMI. CMI was not completely accounted for either by posttraumatic stress disorder or by pre- deployment levels of physical symptoms. Veterans with symp- toms consistent with CMI reported significantly worse physical health function than Veterans who did not report symptoms consistent with CMI. This study suggests that the presence of CMI should be considered in the evaluation of OIF/OEF Veterans. Further, it suggests that the pain manage- ment for these Veterans may need to be tailored to take CMI into consideration.