Gulf War veterans and hemifacial microsomia

Concerns have been raised that more infants with Goldenhar syndrome were born to U.S. Gulf War veterans than expected. Goldenhar syndrome is considered a variant of the malformation hemifacial microsomia (HFM). We used data collected from a case-control study of HFM to estimate risk in relation to parental military service and, in particular, Gulf War service.

Cases with HFM who were three years old or younger were identified at craniofacial clinics in 24 U.S. cities and matched to controls by age and pediatrician. The mothers of 232 cases and 832 controls were interviewed between April 1996 and November 2002 about pregnancy events and exposures, including military service before the child was born and Gulf War deployment five to 11 years before the child was born. Odds ratios were adjusted for family income, race, and body mass index in early pregnancy.

Four (1.7%) case mothers and 10 (1.2%) control mothers served in the military. Among fathers, 30 (12.9%) cases and 100 (12.0%) controls served in the military. The parents of four (1.7%) cases and 23 (2.8%) controls served in the Gulf War (multivariate adjusted odds ratio [MVOR], 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3-2.3). All four case parents with Gulf War service were in the Army compared to 9 of 23 control parents. The MVOR for parental Gulf War service in the Army was 2.8 (95% CI, 0.8-9.6). The corresponding MVOR for any parental service in the Army was 2.4 (95% CI, 1.4-4.2), based on 22 cases and 45 controls.

The risk of HFM in offspring was not associated with parental service in the Gulf War five to 11 years before birth. The odds ratio for service in the Army was independent of Gulf War service and was associated with a modest increase in risk. Our findings for service in the Army may be confounded by unmeasured lifestyle factors.