Pregnancy Outcomes Among U.S. Gulf War Veterans: A Population-Based Survey of 30,000 Veterans

Self-Reported Reproductive Outcomes Among Male and Female 1991 Gulf War era US Military Veterans

“…We also observed no statistically significant differences in birth weight of infants born to GWVs and NDVs. Finding no statistically significant increased odds for miscarriages among male GWVs contrasts with previous papers reporting modest but statistically significant increased risk for miscarriages among this group [38,48], as well as men serving in Vietnam [49]. Additionally, we found no evidence to support a 1999 report that male service members fathered pregnancies that more often resulted in miscarriage [50].…”

“…Additionally, we found no evidence to support a 1999 report that male service members fathered pregnancies that more often resulted in miscarriage [50]. Finding no increased risk for adverse reproductive outcomes among female GWVs is consistent with other population-based studies of Gulf War service members from the United States and the United Kingdom [38,48]. Increased risk for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy among female GWVs has been reported in one study that used a small, hospital-based cohort [39].…”

“…Due to at least 21 reproductive hazards known to be present in the Gulf War theater [27], veterans have also voiced concerns regarding their postwar reproductive health [28,29] and, more specifically, about having children with birth defects [4]. Several epidemiological studies have been conducted to evaluate birth defects among children born to GWVs and their spouses [30][31][32][33][34], but currently, only a few studies have specifically evaluated infertility [35][36][37] or pregnancy outcomes of veterans after returning from the Gulf War [27,[38][39][40]. Results remain inconsistent when assessing the relationship between service in the 1991 Gulf War and adverse reproductive outcomes, and anecdotal reports persist suggesting some veterans may be at increased risk of reduced fertility, miscarriages, and genitourinary tract conditions [28].…”

Disability After Deployment Injury: Are Women and Men Service Members Different?

“…Although this may reflect a true difference in pain condition rates, the discrepancy between our results and previous literature likely points to the evolving nature of disability as service members transition to the care of the VA after separation from the military or that having a disability after injury does not necessarily lead to one seeking care for that disability in the VA. One notable lack of difference is between genders for frequency of abdominal and pelvic conditions. Women veterans are known to have higher frequencies of menstrual and other reproductive disorders compared with their civilian counterparts, a fact one may expect to see reflected in the female disability profile [5,23]. This is likely the result of the fact that such gynecologic complaints are not linked to specific injuries, whereas disabling conditions are usually from the injury.…”

The occupational role of women in military service: Validation of occupation and prevalence of exposures in the Millennium Cohort Study

“…These and other studies investigating exposures associated with morbidity and reproductive health outcomes (Hourani & Hilton 2000;Kang et al 2000Kang et al , 2001Reutman et al 2002;Araneta et al 2003) highlight the growing occupational challenges faced by increasing numbers of women as they serve in an evolving military work force.…”