London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine report findings from a study of reproduction following service in the Gulf War in the early '90s in the British Medical Journal today, identifying a small association between Gulf war service and reported infertility in men¹.

The risk of reported infertility was found to be slightly higher among Gulf veterans than in the comparison group: despite trying for at least a year, 3.4% of Gulf veterans and their partners had not conceived a pregnancy ending in a liveborn baby, versus 2.3% of non-Gulf veterans. This increase in risk did not decline with time since the Gulf, nor was it different among men who had fathered children before the Gulf war. Pregnancies fathered by Gulf veterans who had not reported infertility problems also took longer to conceive.

However, the authors stress that 'the findings of the study should be interpreted with caution. Infertility is a condition which affects both partners, and is a highly sensitive issue, particularly for men. It could be argued that Gulf veterans have more incentive to report infertility if they perceive that it might be related to Gulf war service. Unfortunately there are few reliable UK population-based estimates of infertility for comparison'.

Noreen Maconochie, Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and lead author of the study, comments:

'Although the vast majority of Gulf war veterans were able to have a child, there was a small increase in the proportion who could not when compared to the comparison group. Also, the pregnancies fathered by Gulf men with no fertility problems took longer to conceive. Put together with the previous finding of increased risk of miscarriage among pregnancies fathered by male UK Gulf war veterans², we feel that the results of this study justify further research into the reproductive health of men deployed to the Gulf region, including a prospective investigation of veterans of the recent conflict in Iraq'.

For further information, or to interview Noreen Maconochie or Pat Doyle please contact the LSHTM Press Office on 020 7927 2073 or 020 7927 2482.


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