Coughlin, Steven S, Kang, Han K, Mahan, Clare M · Preventing chronic disease · 2011
This study looked at how alcohol use relates to health problems in veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. Researchers surveyed nearly 10,000 veterans and found that those who drank heavily had higher rates of several conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness. The findings suggest that veterans with drinking problems and war-related health conditions need better access to treatment.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS research because it documents the co-occurrence of CFS-like illness with problem alcohol use and other mental health conditions in a large veteran cohort. Understanding these associations helps researchers and clinicians recognize that ME/CFS patients may benefit from integrated mental health and substance use screening and treatment.
This study does not prove that alcohol use causes ME/CFS or PTSD—it only shows they occur together more often. The cross-sectional design means we cannot determine whether problem drinking develops before, after, or alongside these illnesses. The study also relies on self-reported 'CFS-like illness' rather than rigorous diagnostic criteria, so the true prevalence and nature of ME/CFS in this population remain unclear.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Coughlin, Steven S, Kang, Han K, & Mahan, Clare M (2011). Alcohol use and selected health conditions of 1991 Gulf War veterans: survey results, 2003-2005.. Preventing chronic disease. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21477492/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-coughlin-2011-alcohol-use,
author = {Coughlin, Steven S and Kang, Han K and Mahan, Clare M},
title = {Alcohol use and selected health conditions of 1991 Gulf War veterans: survey results, 2003-2005.},
journal = {Preventing chronic disease},
year = {2011},
note = {PubMed: 21477492},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/coughlin-2011-alcohol-use},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/coughlin-2011-alcohol-use
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