Table 1

Factor loadings (pattern coefficients) × 100 among the Gulf War veterans (n = 1322) and comparison group subjects (n = 1459)

Symptom	Gulf War veterans			Comparison group
Symptom	Factor 1 (Psy-phys)*	Factor 2 (Cogn)†	Factor 3 (A-N-M) ‡	Factor 1 (Psy-phys)*	Factor 2 (Cogn)†	Factor 3 (A-N-M) ‡
Coefficients greater than 0.40 are presented in bold type.
*The label given to factor 1 is “psychophysiological distress”.
†The label given to factor 2 is “cognitive distress”.
‡The label given to factor 3 is “arthro-neuromuscular distress”.
Vomiting	80	–11	–10	81	–8	11
Nausea	79	3	–1	67	19	–4
Stomach cramps	70	1	1	51	11	11
Diarrhoea	64	3	–6	58	7	–2
Wheezing	61	4	1	61	–4	2
Indigestion	60	–4	13	40	12	14
Shortness of breath	58	14	12	46	18	15
Dry mouth	54	19	12	48	22	1
Feeling feverish	54	17	15	67	13	8
Swelling of lymph glands	49	3	16	51	2	15
Lump in throat	49	9	11	56	–11	10
Persistent cough	49	17	–3	61	–9	0
Pain on passing urine	47	24	1	31	29	9
Constipation	45	16	9	21	21	12
Difficulty speaking	44	46	2	27	49	–2
Dizziness, fainting, or blackouts	44	30	7	39	35	8
Loss of balance or coordination	44	35	19	39	43	14
Sore throat	43	–1	9	51	–4	–1
Flatulence/burping	43	12	14	31	14	16
Loss control bladder/bowels	43	26	–6	38	32	21
Burning in sex organs	41	26	8	31	40	15
Skin ulcers	40	14	9	51	17	6
Loss of, or decrease in, appetite	40	42	–2	46	37	–3
Loss of concentration	10	80	5	12	79	3
Feeling distant from others	11	78	–3	8	81	–5
Unrefreshed after sleep	–5	74	28	–17	79	25
Forgetfulness	9	73	4	15	71	–2
Loss of interest in sex	9	69	–2	12	55	13
Sleeping difficulties	3	69	16	–12	71	24
Avoiding things/situations	20	69	5	9	72	9
Feeling jumpy or easily startled	26	65	2	13	65	6
Problems sexual functioning	7	65	–1	15	51	20
Distressing dreams	15	65	7	19	61	3
Fatigue	1	65	30	–4	68	22
Irritability or outbursts of anger	14	64	5	8	63	9
Difficulty finding right word	17	59	9	19	64	–2
Feeling disorientated	33	58	5	38	59	–4
Increased sensitivity to noise	22	52	5	32	42	13
Shaking	34	46	4	30	39	11
Increased sensitivity to light	29	43	11	40	31	9
Increased sensitivity to smells/odours	17	41	14	24	42	9
Stiffness in several joints	6	5	88	6	–1	91
Pain in several joints (no swelling or redness)	4	10	81	2	2	84
General muscle aches/pains	19	4	67	9	14	60
Loss sensation hands/feet	22	18	48	27	11	52
Low back pain	15	11	45	3	13	56
Tingling/burning in hands/feet	24	19	43	26	15	43
Ringing in the ears	24	22	20	14	21	28
Rash or skin irritation	22	21	19	26	11	18
Itchy or painful eyes	26	24	18	28	19	20
Night sweats that soak sheets	23	36	17	34	33	19
Unintended weight gain >4 kg	23	22	17	15	31	16
Chest pain	35	19	17	35	18	23
Toothache	37	1	15	26	12	10
Skin infections e.g. boils	25	15	14	24	9	25
Mouth ulcers	23	7	13	21	2	13
Rapid or pounding heart beat	37	33	13	37	33	5
Double vision	27	38	12	34	34	1
Intolerance to alcohol	32	37	10	26	41	6
Headaches	30	26	9	22	27	16
Passing urine more often	32	32	9	35	25	14
Unintended weight loss >4 kg	34	32	0	30	40	–17