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Abstract
Objective To evaluate the potential for adverse health outcomes among infants born to US Coast Guard (USCG) responders to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill disaster.
Methods Department of Defense Birth and Infant Health Research programme data identified a cohort of singleton infants born 2010–2011 to USCG personnel in the DWH Oil Spill Coast Guard Cohort study. Infants were included if their military parent (‘sponsor’) responded to the oil spill during a selected reproductive exposure window (ie, 3 months preconception for male sponsors and periconception through pregnancy for female sponsors), or if their sponsor was a non-responder. χ2 tests and multivariable log-binomial regression were used to compare the demographic and health characteristics of infants born to spill responders and non-responders.
Results Overall, 1974 infants with a male sponsor (n=182 responder, n=1792 non-responder) and 628 infants with a female sponsor (n=35 responder, n=593 non-responder) in the DWH Oil Spill Coast Guard Cohort were identified. Health outcomes were similar among the offspring of male responders and non-responders. The frequency of any poor live birth outcome (ie, low birth weight, preterm birth or birth defect) was higher among infants born to female responders (17.1%, n=6) than non-responders (8.9%, n=53); the maternal age-adjusted association was suggestively elevated (risk ratio 1.93, 95% CI 0.89 to 4.16).
Conclusion Infant health outcomes were comparable between the offspring of male USCG oil spill responders and non-responders. Findings were limited by the small number of infants identified, particularly among female responders, and should be interpreted with caution.
- Environmental Pollution
- Military Personnel
- Pregnancy Outcome
Data availability statement
Data are available upon reasonable request. The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to security protocols and privacy regulations, but they may be made available on reasonable request by the Naval Health Research Center Institutional Review Board (contact phone +1 619 553 8400).
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Data availability statement
Data are available upon reasonable request. The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to security protocols and privacy regulations, but they may be made available on reasonable request by the Naval Health Research Center Institutional Review Board (contact phone +1 619 553 8400).
Footnotes
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Contributors CH, ASC, ATB, GRG, HD-R and JAR contributed to study conception and data acquisition. CH, MB and CJR conducted the analyses. EWH and DLT provided subject matter expertise. CH drafted the manuscript and all coauthors provided critical review and feedback.
Funding Report No. 22-76 was supported by the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery under work unit no. 60504. The DWH-CG Cohort Study was supported by a National Institutes of Health grant (RO1ES020874). One of the authors (HD-R) was supported by an appointment to the Department of Defense Research Participation Program administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an interagency agreement between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense. ORISE is managed by ORAU under DOE contract number DE- SC0014664.
Disclaimer ASC, DLT and JAR are military service members or employees of the US government. This work was prepared as part of their official duties. Title 17, U.S.C. §105 provides that copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the US government. Title 17, U.S.C. §101 defines a US government work as work prepared by a military service member or employee of the US government as part of that person’s official duties.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, United States Coast Guard, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, nor the US government.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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