Birth Defects Seen in Gulf War I Vets' Kids

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> Birth Defects Seen in Gulf War Vets' Kids

> http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030604/D7RF5RDO0.html

>

> > Jun 4, 4:59 PM (ET)

>

> By SUZANNE GAMBOA

>

> WASHINGTON (AP) - Children of veterans of the first Gulf War are more

> likely to have three specific birth defects than those of soldiers who

> never served in the gulf, a government study has found.

>

> Researchers found the infants born to male veterans of the 1991 war had

> higher rates of two types of heart valve defects. They also found a

> higher rate of a genital urinary defect in boys conceived after the war

> to Gulf War veteran mothers.

>

> In addition, Gulf War veterans' children born after the war had a

> certain kidney defect that was not found in Gulf War veterans' children

> born before the war.

>

> The researchers said they did not have enough information to link the

> birth defects to possible exposures to poisonous gases, pesticides and

> other toxic substances, which many Gulf War veterans suspect are

> culprits of their mysterious illnesses and their children's health

> problems. They also did not have access to parents' family histories and

> job exposures.

>

>

> The study by the Department of Defense Naval Health Research Center and

> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined birth defect data

> from 1989-93.

>

> In all, researchers identified 11,961 children born to Gulf War veterans

> and 33,052 children of veterans who had not been deployed in the Gulf.

> Of those, 450 had mothers who served in the Gulf and 3,966 had

> non-deployed mothers.

>

> They found four sons of female Gulf War veterans with a condition known

> as hypospadia, making children in that group about six times more likely

> to be born with the defect. Boys born with the condition have urethra

> openings located in the middle or the back of the penis.

>

> In postwar conceived infants of male Gulf War veterans, researchers

> found 10 children with tricuspid valve insufficiency, making children in

> that group 2.7 times more likely to have the defect, and five with

> aortic valve stenosis, a six-fold difference. Both are conditions in

> which heart valves do not function properly.

>

> Five postwar children of male Gulf War veterans had renal agenesis, a

> condition in which part of the kidney fails to grow and develop

> properly.

>

> " It will be worthwhile to explore the causal relationship between

> wartime exposure, the occurrence of the four specific defects and the

> exposures of Gulf War veterans, " said Dr. Maria Rosa Araneta, a

> perinatal epidemiologist teaching at the University of California, San

> Diego. She worked for the naval center when the study was conducted.

>

> The study was published in the April edition of Birth Defects Research.

>

> Researchers continue to hunt for possible causes of the illnesses

> experienced by thousands of veterans from the first Gulf War. Many vets

> have complained of chronic fatigue, migraines, balance problems, chronic

> joint pain and other symptoms. Some veterans were more likely to report

> birth defects in their offspring in a 2001 Veterans Affairs study.

>

> Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of the Pentagon's Deployment

> Health Support office, said the study " should not be used to say we

> found an answer. "

>

> The study did not find significant increases in rates of multiple birth

> defects in Gulf War veterans' children, he noted. But Araneta said

> differences are usually found when specific forms of a disease are

> studied, such as breast cancer rates versus overall cancer rates.

>

> The authors' also said in the study, larger sample sizes were needed for

> individual, less frequent birth defects, which Kilpatrick also noted.

>

> Decades after the Vietnam War, Veterans Affairs provided health care and

> compensation for some Vietnam veterans' children with certain birth

> defects.

>

> " We think they should do the same for Gulf War veterans. These children

> have very serious and extraordinary problems and families have broken up

> over it, " said Betty Mekdeci, executive director of the Association for

> Birth Defects Children.

>

> CDC researcher Larry Edmonds said the study also demonstrates the value

> of statewide birth defects registries. Currently, 11 states have

> " active " registries in which a public nurse looks at several sources for

> comprehensive data on children with birth defects.

>

> ---

>

> On the Net: Birth Defects Research, Inc.: http://www.birthdefects.org/

>

> Naval Health Research Center: http://www.nhrc.navy.mil/splash/home.html

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