A Brunel PhD study needs 150 male veterans aged 30 to 65 to give one blood sample in Uxbridge. Two anonymous online health surveys are open as well.
A doctoral researcher at Brunel University of London is looking for 150 male veterans to give a single blood sample at the Uxbridge campus, and because the study cannot pay travel costs, the researcher says it is likely to suit only people in the local area. Veterans anywhere in Hillingdon who fit one of its three groups could take part in one visit of 20 to 30 minutes. Two anonymous online questionnaires, on combat ill-health and on head injury and blast exposure, are also open.
“Since being medically discharged from the British Army, I am undertaking research into veteran ill-health,” Savannah Thompson wrote to us. “As the research is self-proposed and self-funded, I unfortunately don’t have the means to reimburse travel so this likely only useful to local areas.”
“I am now just needing to recruit people to either partake in the lab work and/or complete one (or both) of the questionnaires,” Thompson added.
Who the blood study needs
The study wants 50 men in each of three groups, aged 30 to 65, according to its advert:
- veterans of the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War diagnosed with recognised Gulf War Syndrome
- SAS, SBS, Royal Marines or Parachute Regiment veterans with diagnosed or suspected military-related mild traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- veterans with a deployment history and no Gulf War Syndrome, TBI or other immune-altering health concern
That third group is the comparison, so a veteran in good health can be as useful to the work as one who is ill. The groups, the advert says, “are defined to ensure valid scientific comparisons and to match the demographics of previous international research.”
What happens on the day
You would read an information sheet and sign a consent form, fill in a brief symptom questionnaire and give a small blood sample by routine venepuncture. There are no follow-up visits, and you can pause or stop at any time.
“You will not be asked to discuss operational experiences or traumatic events,” the advert says.
Before the visit you would be asked to go without alcohol for 48 hours, smoking or vaping for 12 hours and strenuous exercise for 24 hours. Some medications and recent illnesses may affect whether you are eligible, and the participant information sheet gives the full details.
The advert says the work will explore “whether specific immune pathways involved in detecting cellular stress behave differently across groups of veterans”, and that the biology of these long-term problems “is not well understood”. It also sets out the limits: the study “does not diagnose any condition and will not identify the cause of individual symptoms.”
Samples and data are anonymous. The project is independent of the MOD, the NHS and service charities, the advert says, and taking part or not “will not affect medical care, service records, benefits, or relationships with any organisation.” It also says ethics approval has been granted.
To volunteer or ask a question, email Savannah Thompson at 2404974@brunel.ac.uk. Thompson offers to talk it through on most days, but not on Friday mornings, which go to volunteering at the coffee morning of a veteran care home.
The two online questionnaires
Neither survey needs a trip to campus. Both are open to veterans of the UK, US or Canadian armed forces aged 18 or over, not to serving personnel, and both take 15 to 20 minutes. They are anonymous and voluntary, with no payment or incentive. You can stop at any time before you submit, but answers cannot be withdrawn after that because nothing identifies them.
The first asks about health after a combat deployment. Its advert says some veterans report “fatigue, headaches, cognitive difficulties, pains, sleep problems, and gastrointestinal issues, amongst others”, and the study will look at whether patterns differ between deployments, including the Gulf War. It wants veterans of any combat deployment with ongoing symptoms they believe may be linked to it, UK Gulf War veterans who believe they have Gulf War Syndrome, whether or not it is in their health records, and Gulf War veterans with ongoing ill health but no diagnosis.
Start the combat ill-health survey
The second asks about head injury and blast exposure. Its advert lists repeated low-level blast from breaching and weapons training, heavy weapons overpressure such as artillery, explosions and improvised explosive devices, vehicle shock and acceleration on land, in the air or at sea, and impact head injuries. It is open to any branch and to “combat, training, technical, aviation, maritime, and support positions”, and asks whether symptoms vary with the type of exposure and the job.
Start the head injury and blast survey
What it means for you
If you are a man aged 30 to 65 who has left the forces and can get to the Uxbridge campus, the blood study is the part of this research where living locally counts, and you do not have to be unwell to qualify. If you cannot, or do not fit a group, the questionnaires are open to veterans of any rank, role or service.
The adverts can be printed or forwarded to a veteran who will not see this page. Thompson has asked for help “in circulating any of the relevant adverts wherever possible.” Times for this Sunday’s services are on our Remembrance Sunday page.
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