WASHINGTON, June 12, 1997 (GulfLINK) The latest
medical study on birth defects among the children of veterans demonstrates
that children of Gulf War veterans do not have an increased risk of birth
defects. The study compared Gulf War veterans offspring to those
of military personnel who did not serve in the Persian Gulf. The risk
of birth defects in both military populations approximates the risk level
in the general civilian population.
Seven studies on "reproductive health" and Gulf
War veterans have been funded by the federal government. Two studies have
recently been concluded, with the results of the second study being published
in the June 5 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The article covers the study of 33,998 infants born to 578,705
Gulf War veterans and 41,463 infants born to 699,954 military personnel
who did not serve in the Kuwait Theater of Operations (KTO).
The proportion of birth defects among these births is displayed
in the table below. "All" birth defects includes such things
as hereditary diseases and any abnormality even if only cosmetic, such
as birthmarks. "Severe" birth defects covers those malformations
rated by the Centers for Disease Control to be frequent enough and severe
enough to represent a public health problem.
As the table below shows, there were no meaningful differences
in the rates of birth defects in the children of military personnel assigned
to the Gulf, when compared to those not deployed to the Gulf. The small
differences seen in the table are not statistically significant.
Percentage of liveborne children with birth
defects |
|
ALL birth defects |
SEVERE birth defects |
|
Children of Gulf War vets |
Children of non-Gulf War vets |
Children of Gulf War vets |
Children of non-Gulf War vets |
Offspring of active duty men |
7.09% |
7.17% |
1.84% |
1.79% |
Offspring of active duty women |
10.32% |
9.18% |
1.98% |
2.14% |
Total |
7.45% |
7.59% |
1.85% |
1.86% |
There was no relationship between the duration of deployment
during the war, in days or months, and the risk of any birth defect in
the children of Gulf War veterans. In addition, the length of time from
the return home from the Gulf to the date of childbirth was not related
to the risk of any birth defect. If service in the war was related to
birth defects, this would most likely appear right after the service members
returned home, but this pattern was not observed.
There was also no relationship between Gulf War service
and the risk of severe birth defects. In both deployed and non-deployed
veterans, the most common types of severe birth defects involved the genitourinary
system, the heart and circulatory system, and congenital hip dislocation.
The study said the Gulf War veterans with children were
more likely to be single, black, in the Army, and in the enlisted ranks
than the control group of veterans who did not serve in the Gulf. When
statistical adjustments were made to account for those differences, there
was still no indication the children of Gulf War veterans were at any
greater risk of being born with defects.
The article points out that the study had both strengths
and limitations.
The strengths include the very large number of births studied,
and the fact that the study covered conceptions for the two years after
the Gulf War, when the reproductive impact of service in the Gulf would
most likely show up.
The limitations include:
- The study was not designed to investigate subgroups or small populations
that may have had unique exposures.
- 110,000 members of the Reserve or National Guard who deployed to the
Gulf War were not included in the study, because neither they nor their
families were eligible for care in military hospitals after the service
member was released from active duty.
- Children born after their fathers and mothers left active-duty were
not included in the study. By the end of the study, on September 30,
1993, about 44% of the men and 30% of the women had left active duty.
- Over 99% of live births to female service members occurred in military
hospitals, so this is a complete information source for them. In contrast,
about 58% of live births to the wives of male service members occurred
in military hospitals, so this is not a complete source for them. This
means that information for 42% of the children of male service members
is not available.
- This study focused on birth defects diagnosed at birth. Not all congenital
defects are diagnosed at birth, and a minority of them are detected
months or even years later.
The limitations of this study are being addressed in other
research projects on reproductive health that are currently underway.
The total numbers of live born children were determined
from both military and civilian hospital records. Gulf War veterans gave
birth to a significantly increased number of children, when compared to
non-deployed veterans, which implies that Gulf War service did not harm
fertility.
While the results of this large research study are reassuring,
it cannot answer all the questions about reproductive problems among Gulf
War veterans. If a Gulf War veteran has concerns about a child who has
a birth defect or other health problem, the child is eligible to receive
a complete medical examination in the DoD Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation
Program (CCEP) or the VA Persian Gulf Health Registry. Active duty personnel
can schedule a personal or a family member appointment with the CCEP by
calling 1-800-796-9699. Service personnel who have been discharged can
schedule a personal appointment or an appointment for a family member
at the VA by calling 1-800-PGW-VETS.
|