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Written question asked by Andrew Murrison (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 17 May 2012. It was answered by Lord Robathan (Conservative) on Wednesday, 23 May 2012 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Iraq Conflict

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what medical conditions are more prevalent amongst veterans of the second Iraq war;

[R]

[108363]

Answer

While we hold information on medical conditions affecting our service personnel, it is not possible to attribute these to a particular deployment. However, we will shortly be beginning a long term study covering operations in Iraq and Afghanistan which will mirror the ongoing study into the health of veterans of the first Gulf war. As with the ongoing study, the results of this new study will be published regularly.

This ongoing study published its latest findings on 31 March 2012, and can be found at:

www.dasa.mod.uk

This found that there was no statistically significant difference in the total number of deaths between Gulf veterans and service personnel who had not served in the first Gulf war; and the number of disease related deaths was significantly lower among Gulf veterans than among those who had not served in the first Gulf war. Finally, both groups of veterans were at a lower risk of dying than the general UK population.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
108363; 545 cc722-3W
Session
2012-13
Registered interest declared
Yes
Subjects
Armed forces Health Iraq conflict
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk