A Comparison of Cervical Pathology between United States Air Force Women Who Did and Did Not Serve in the Persian Gulf War

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to look objectively at cervical cytological differences between women Gulf War female veterans (GWFV) and Gulf War-era active duty females not deployed to the Gulf (NDF) during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm using Pap smear results. METHODS: A cohort of 6715 active duty Air Force women who also served on active duty between August 7, 1990–March 1, 1991 provided at least one Pap smear as part of routine medical care during 1994. Of these, 1446 were identified as GWFV and 5269 were identified as NDF. Diagnoses were compared using Chi-square tests with Yateʹs continuity correction. RESULTS: There were no differences between the two groups, overall, in the diagnosis of other than within normal limits (OTWNL), the diagnoses of significant disease or in Bethesda system diagnoses in each of the three years for which comparisons were made. GWFV diagnosed in the 26–30 age group were significantly more likely to have a diagnosis of OTWNL than were NDF in the same age group image in 1994. There were no differences between the two groups in any other age category. CONCLUSIONS: The data provide little support for the hypothesis that a difference exists between GWFV and NDF with respect to abnormal cervical cytology.