HL Deb 20 July 2000 vol 615 cc108-9WA
Baroness Gould of Potternewton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the most recent figures for deaths among Gulf veterans and the comparison group. [HL3513]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Peer reviewed scientific data comparing the mortality of UK Gulf veterans to an era group of service personnel who did not deploy to the Gulf was published for the first time in theLancet on 1 July 2000. The Ministry of Defence will now continue to monitor the mortality of both Gulf veterans and the era group and will publish updated figures on a regular basis. The figures as at 30 June 2000 are shown in the table. Overall, in the period 1 April 1991 to 30 June 2000 the mortality of UK Gulf veterans was only slightly greater than that of the comparison group. The number of Gulf veterans dying from disease related causes is rather less than for the comparison group, whereas the number of Gulf veterans dying of external causes is rather higher than for the comparison group. The Ministry of Defence will conduct a more detailed analysis of road traffic accidents to establish whether there are any underlying trends that might help explain this excess.

Deaths to UK Gulf veterans (Note: 1)
April 1991–30 June 2000
Causes (coded to ICD-9) (Note: 2)
ICD Chapter Cause of death Gulf Era Mortality Ratio
Late effects of accident/injury 0 1 0.00
Suicide and injury undetermined whether accidental 83 79 1.05
Homicide 4 4 1.00
Injury resulting from the operations of war 3 4 0.75
Other deaths for which coded cause data are not yet available 4 5
Overseas deaths for which cause data are not available 3 5

Notes:

1. Service and ex-Service personnel only.

2. World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases 9th revision, 1977.