Long-term health status 20 years after sulfur mustard exposure

Abstract

To describe the long-term health status of Sardasht civilians 20 years after sulfur mustard exposure, a historical cohort study was carried out in Sardasht (Iran) that included 372 exposed and 128 unexposed civilians. Their symptoms, diagnoses, drug use, and general health were compared. The most common complaints were about the respiratory system (93.5%), eyes (52%), skin (94.7%), and anxiety and depression (69.2%). Respiratory (42.5%), skin (75.5%), ophthalmic (19.6%), and mental (62.7%) diseases were diagnosed by specialists and they were more common in the exposed group than the control group (P < 0.001). Most of the exposed group had used drugs (70.6%), which was more than control group (42.8%). It seems that exposure to sulfur mustard caused a lot of health problems in Sardasht. Identifying the pathophysiology of these problems can help them more, but more investigation is needed.

Keywords::

• Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study (SICS)
• sulfur mustard
• health status

Acknowledgments

This study was performed by Immunoregulation Research Center of Shahed University, and Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC) and supported by the Iranian Foundation of Martyr and Veterans Affairs and Ministry of Health and Medical Education. We would like to thank all the participants who took part in this study very kindly.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.