Examining the Reproductive Health of Gulf War Veterans and the Subsequent Health and Development of Their Children

For many years veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW) have continued to express concern about the health of their family members, specifically their children. Despite multiple early indications of excess birth defects and reproductive anomalies in families GW veterans after the1990-91 GW, long-needed follow up and further assessment of these issues have not been conducted. Most surprisingly, no studies have specifically evaluated whether reproductive, birth and childrens' health outcomes differentially affect veterans with GW illness (GWI), and only a limited few have considered these outcomes in relation to hazardous exposures during GW service. The proposed study is therefore designed to directly address these longstanding questions, focusing specifically on the association of GWI and characteristics of GW service with birth and reproductive issues in veterans' families and health outcomes in veterans' children. We will specifically evaluate whether GWI and exposures during GW deployment were associated with increased risk for adverse reproductive health outcomes for GW veterans and differences in developmental and overall health of their children. We hypothesize that exposures experienced during the GW contribute to adverse reproductive health outcomes and neurodevelopmental outcomes for GW veterans, particularly those with GWI.