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Pregnancy outcomes among U.S. women Vietnam veterans
1Environmental Epidemiology Service, Veterans Health Administration Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC 20036-3406, USA. han.kang@mail.va.gov
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.