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Pregnancy outcomes among U.S. women Vietnam veterans
Author(s) -
Kang Han K.,
Mahan Clare M.,
Lee Kyung Y.,
Magee Carol A.,
Mather Susan H.,
Matanoski Genevieve
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0274(200010)38:4<447::aid-ajim11>3.0.co;2-j
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , odds ratio , confidence interval , miscarriage , vietnam war , demography , military service , logistic regression , low birth weight , obstetrics , history , genetics , archaeology , pathology , sociology , political science , law , biology
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.