Pregnancy outcomes among U.S. women Vietnam veterans

Abstract

Background Since the 1965–1975 Vietnam War, there has been persistent concern that women who served in the U.S. military in Vietnam may have experienced adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods We compared self‐reported pregnancy outcomes for 4,140 women Vietnam veterans with those of 4,140 contemporary women veterans who were not deployed to Vietnam. As a measure of association, we calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regression adjusting for age at conception, race, education, military nursing status, smoking, drinking and other exposures during pregnancy. Results There was no statistically significant association between military service in Vietnam and index pregnancies resulting in miscarriage or stillbirth, low birth weight, pre‐term delivery, or infant death. The risk of having children with “moderate‐to‐severe” birth defects was significantly elevated among Vietnam veterans (adjusted OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.06–2.02). Conclusions The risk of birth defects among index children was significantly associated with mother's military service in Vietnam. Am. J. Ind. Med. 38:447–454, 2000. Published 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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

“…The DoD Center for Deployment Health Research has several on-going efforts that may provide further insight into adverse reproductive outcomes including the Millennium Cohort Study [59] and the DoD Birth and Infant Health Registry [60]. Consistent with findings from Vietnam-era veterans [61], results from our analyses of singleton live births found no evidence to suggest GWVs are at increased risk for having abnormal birth weight infants. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7.1% of all births occurring in 1991 met the definition for LBW (<2500 g), increasing slightly to 7.3% by 1995 [62].…”

Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Vietnam-Era Women Veterans

“…The women identified for the 3 cohorts were compiled from (1) the original rosters developed for a 1991 study, 12 (2) the Defense Manpower Data Center's Vietnam roster from the Department of Defense, (3) self-registration, and (4) names obtained from a reproductive health outcomes study (described in the eMethods in the Supplement). 13,14 Service eligibility was confirmed using records from the National Personnel Records Center, St Louis, Missouri. To the best of our knowledge, the Vietnam cohort represents all women who served in Vietnam.…”

Smallpox Vaccine and Adverse Reproductive Health Outcomes in Military Service Members

“…In the US military, deployment to wars and associated military-unique exposures have caused great concern and resource-intensive research that assess later appearance of birth defects in children. (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31) Currently, with the exception of the passive Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) for short-term outcomes, (32) there is no structured system to evaluate reproductive health effects of vaccinations. (33) The US military, charged with maintaining the health of all service members and their families, and with a growing population of women members,(34) has recently developed a strong surveillance system for birth defects.…”