§ Lord Campbell-Savoursasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the latest figures for deaths to Gulf veterans, and among the control group. [HL2454]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)Peer reviewed scientific data comparing the mortality rates of UK Gulf veterans to an era group of service personnel who216WA did not deploy to the Gulf was published for the first time in the Lancet on 1 July 2000. Updates to these figures were provided by the Ministry of Defence to the House on 20 July 2000, 22 January 2001 and 19 July 2001. The MoD has undertaken to 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 31 December 2001 are shown in the table.
Overall, in the period 1 April 1991 to 31 December 2001, the mortality of UK Gulf veterans was no different than that of the control group. Slightly fewer Gulf veterans have died from disease-related causes than have those in the control group, whereas the number of Gulf veterans dying of external causes is a little higher than for the control group. These differences are similar to those shown by the figures published in July 2001.
Deaths to UK Gulf veterans (Note 1) 1 April 1991–31 December 2001 Causes (coded to ICD-9) (Note 2) ICD Chapter Cause of death Gulf Era Mortality Rate Ratio1 All deaths 524 520 1.00 All cause coded deaths 514 510 1.00 I—XVI Disease-related causes 198 240 0.82 I Infectious and parasitic diseases 3 2 1.49 II Cancers 84 94 0.89 III Endocrine and immune disorders 1 4 0.25 V Mental disorders 11 12 0.91 VI Diseases of the nervous system and sense organs 7 6 1.16 VII Diseases of the circulatory system 68 90 0.75 VIII Diseases of the respiratory system 10 5 1.99 IX Diseases of the digestive system 11 16 0.68 1V, X—XVI All other disease-related causes 3 11 0.27 EXVII External causes of injury and poisoning 316 270 1.17 Railway accidents 4 1 3.98 Motor vehicle accidents 110 92 1.19 Water transport accidents 4 1 3.98 Air and space accidents 25 17 1.46 Other vehicle accidents 0 1 0.00 Accidental poisoning 10 14 0.71 Accidental falls 8 6 1.33 Accidents due to fire/flames 0 2 0.00 Accidents due to natural environmental factors 2 2 1.00 Accidents due to submersion/suffocation/foreign bodies 17 7 2.42 Other accidents 31 27 1.14 Late effects of accident/injury 0 2 0.00 Suicide and injury undetermined whether accidental 97 90 1.07 Homicide 5 4 1.24 Injury resulting from the operations of war 3 4 0.75 Other deaths for which coded cause data are not yet available 7 7 Overseas deaths for which cause data are not available 3 3 1 Mortality rate ratios differ marginally from crude deaths ratio owing to some small differences between the Gulf and Era cohorts. Notes:
1. Service and Ex-Service personnel only.
2. World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases 9th revision 1997.