Pregnancy Outcome Among Iraqi Soldiers & Civilians in Iraq and Gulf War 1991

Context: Although Iraqis were exposed to very severe conditions during the 1991 Gulf War, we have very little information on the effect of distance from the war zone on the outcomes of pregnancy and congenital anomalies in children. Aim: To determine if pregnancy outcomes vary by distance from the 1991Gulf War battle zone. Methods: The study sample consisted of men between the ages 18-45 years and residents within 360 kilometres in Iraqi providences of Basra & Messan at time of 1991 Gulf War. During 2002, 720 out of 1150 participant were enrolled in the study because they were married and had at least one child. We divided the population study into two main groups: battle and non-battle zone and studied the effects of war on pregnancy outcomes. Results: Congenital anomalies in the non-battle zones appear to be significantly higher, which implies that the impact of war was not restricted to the war zone. Conclusion: There is no relationship between geographical closeness to Kuwait and adverse pregnancy outcome.