Table 1.
Characteristics of men included in the analysis. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Gulf veterans (n=10 465) | Non-Gulf veterans (n=7376) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age at survey (years) | ||
| <30 | 2642 (25.3) | 1491 (20.2) |
| 30-34 | 4403 (42.1) | 3134 (42.5) |
| 35-39 | 2545 (24.3) | 2046 (27.7) |
| ≥40 | 875 (8.4) | 705 (9.6) |
| Mean (SD) | 33.4 (4.51) | 33.9 (4.53) |
|
Year of first attempt or conception after Gulf war*
|
|
|
| 1991† | 2296 (21.9) | 1679 (22.8) |
| 1992-3 | 3717 (35.5) | 2691 (36.5) |
| 1994-5 | 2726 (26.1) | 1848 (25.1) |
| 1996-7‡ | 1726 (16.5) | 1158 (15.7) |
|
Age at first attempt or conception after Gulf war* (years)
|
|
|
| <25 | 2807 (26.8) | 1790 (24.3) |
| 25-29 | 4535 (43.3) | 3188 (43.2) |
| 30-34 | 2363 (22.6) | 1803 (24.4) |
| ≥35 | 760 (7.3) | 595 (8.1) |
| Mean (SD) | 28.0 (4.50) | 28.4 (4.55) |
|
Age of wife or female partner§ at first attempt or conception after Gulf war (years)
| ||
| <25 | 3279 (31.8) | 2116 (29.0) |
| 25-29 | 4226 (41.0) | 3026 (41.5) |
| 30-34 | 2221 (21.6) | 1708 (23.4) |
| ≥35 | 581 (5.6) | 449 (6.2) |
| Mean (SD) | 27.0 (4.54) | 27.2 (4.49) |
| Pregnancies before Gulf war | ||
| All | 2829 (27.0) | 2492 (33.8) |
| Fertility problems after Gulf war¶ | ||
| All: | 732 (7.0) | 370 (5.0) |
| Reported pregnancies before Gulf war | 117 (16.0) | 72 (19.5) |
| Achieved recognised pregnancies | 473 (64.6) | 248 (67.0) |
| Achieved live births | 376 (51.4) | 204 (55.1) |
| No conceptions: | 259 (2.5) | 122 (1.7) |
| With pregnancies before Gulf war | 45 (17.4) | 27 (22.1) |
| No live births: | 356 (3.4) | 166 (2.3) |
| With pregnancies before Gulf war | 61 (17.1) | 35 (21.1) |
First unsuccessful attempt after Gulf war for those reporting fertility problems; first post-Gulf war conception for those reporting no fertility problems. Reproductive events assigned pre-Gulf or post-Gulf war status by date of first deployment (Gulf veterans) or 1 January 1991 (non-Gulf veterans and Gulf veterans where date of first deployment not known).
135 Gulf veterans conceived pregnancies or first attempted unsuccessfully to have children in 1990, after deployment to the Gulf.
Attempts and conceptions included only up to 31 July 1997 (see methods).
Excluding 158 Gulf veterans and 77 non-Gulf veterans with missing data.
Tried for a pregnancy after Gulf war without success for more than a year and consulted a doctor before 1 August 1997 about failure to conceive. With or without conceptions before Gulf war, but no conceptions after Gulf war before unsuccessful attempt. Excludes 14 men reporting fertility problems due to unsuccessful reversal of (elective) sterilisation, congenital urogenital anomaly, injuries (for example, paralysis), or cancer treatment.