Novel Interventions for GWVI

Objectives: Over 40,000 Veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War (GW) have a persistent form of chronic multisymptom illness that defines Gulf War Veterans Illness (GWVI). With no existing proven treatments to provide relief to these sufferers, it is critical to find efficacious and acceptable treatments for GWVI. The long-term goal was to develop a safe, readily available, mind-body treatment to reduce pain and other chronic symptoms and enhance wellness in Veterans with GWVI. Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese mind-body therapy that has been practiced for centuries. In the last decade, the investigators have demonstrated that Tai Chi can improve both physical health and psychological wellbeing in patients with a variety of chronic conditions. This randomized trial aimed to establish the effectiveness of a Tai Chi mind-body treatment in Veterans with GWVI. One hundred and fourteen participants meeting criteria for GWVI were randomly assigned to either a Tai Chi exercise or a wellness education group for 12 weeks with a post treatment assessment, and follow-up assessments. The investigators addressed the following Specific Aims: Specific Aim 1: Evaluate whether the Tai Chi intervention will reduce symptoms of pain in Veterans with GWVI more than the Wellness intervention. The investigators hypothesized that participants randomized to the Tai Chi intervention will show a greater reduction in pain symptoms than those in the Wellness intervention and will maintain changes over a 9-month follow-up period. Specific Aim 2: Evaluate whether the Tai Chi intervention improves fatigue, cognition, quality of life, and physical functioning in GW Veterans with GWVI, as compared to the Wellness intervention. The investigators hypothesized that participants randomized to the Tai Chi intervention will evidence more improvement in fatigue, cognitive functioning, quality of life, and physical functioning than those randomized to the Wellness intervention and will maintain changes over a 9-month follow-up period. Research Design: One hundred and fourteen GW Veterans meeting criteria for GWVI were randomly assigned to either the Tai Chi Condition (n=58) or the Wellness Condition (n=56). Methodology: Participants received 12 weeks of the randomly-assigned intervention twice each week. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 12 weeks (post-intervention), 24 weeks (3 months post-intervention) and 48 weeks (9 months post-intervention). Assessments included instruments to measure self-reported pain, fatigue, cognition, quality of life, and physical functioning.