Health Study of Atomic Veterans’ Families Not Feasible, Study Says
News Release
Last update July 14, 1995
WASHINGTON -- A scientifically accurate and valid epidemiologic study of reproductive problems among the families of veterans exposed to radiation from atomic bombings and nuclear weapons tests is not feasible, concluded an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee in a new report.
"A study of the health status of the veterans themselves is feasible and is being done," said committee chair William J. Schull, director, Center for Demographic and Population Genetics, School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston. "But the means do not exist to obtain adequate and reliable information on the reproductive problems that affect spouses, children, and grandchildren, and whether these problems are linked to the veterans' exposure to radiation while in the military."
U.S. servicemen who were exposed to radiation as a result of the atomic bombings in World War II and the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons during the 1940s and 1950s have expressed concern that their family members face increased health risks as a result of these exposures. Congress sought guidance from IOM about the feasibility of an epidemiologic study to determine if there is an increased risk of illness for the veterans' spouses during pregnancy, and birth defects or other health disorders in the children and grandchildren of these veterans.
An epidemiologic study would explore whether exposure to a potentially harmful substance is associated with particular health effects within a specified population. This report discusses the feasibility of epidemiologic studies of radiation exposure and potential adverse reproductive outcomes. Adverse reproductive problems might include infertility, spontaneous abortion, congenital defects, stillbirth, and infant death.
Generally the term atomic veteran encompasses anyone in the military service who participated in the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, who was involved in clean-up activities in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, or who was a prisoner of war assigned work duties at the time of or shortly after the bombings. The Defense Nuclear Agency has identified about 210,000 veterans who participated in atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons.
The committee found that there are "insurmountable difficulties" in finding and contacting a sufficiently large number of the veterans' offspring and establishing an accurate measure of radiation exposure for each atomic veteran. It also is difficult to detect the small potential risk to health at low exposure levels.
Other major barriers to conducting an epidemiologic study are the inability to identify and reliably document effects over a 50-year interval and to measure other non-radiation factors that cause reproductive problems. "These difficulties become even greater in the grandchildren of these veterans," the committee noted.
Birth defects and other problems related to reproduction are not rare in the general population. In the absence of any radiation effects, the committee noted, 15,000 children with major birth defects would be expected among the almost 500,000 offspring of the atomic veterans.
Other types of epidemiologic studies might be informative, the committee said, but these also would have limitations related to study size, population composition, uncertainty of exposure levels, and other confounding factors. Data on the occurrence of birth defects and reproductive problems following exposure to radiation could be collected from the children of people residing in areas where natural radiation is substantially higher than usual, people living near nuclear installations, individuals exposed at work, and patients undergoing nuclear medicine treatment. Data also could be collected from potential studies of non-military individuals exposed to fallout from atmospheric weapons testing and the continuing studies of the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The committee roster is below. The Institute of Medicine is a private, non-profit organization that provides health policy advice under a congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences.
Copies of Adverse Reproductive Outcomes in Families of Atomic Veterans: The Feasibility of Epidemiologic Studies are available at www.nap.edu or by calling 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Contacts: Barbara J. Rice, Media Relations Manager
Mark Parsons, Media Relations Assistant
(202) 334-2138; news@nas.edu
INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
Medical Follow-up Agency
Committee to Study the Need For, and Feasibility of, Epidemiologic Studies
of Adverse Reproductive Outcomes in the Families of Atomic Veterans
William J. Schull (chair)
Director
Center for Demographic and Population Genetics
School of Public Health
University of Texas
Houston
Fred A. Mettler Jr. (chair pro tem)
Professor and Chair
Department of Radiology
School of Medicine
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque
Robert W. Miller (chair pro tem)
Scientist Emeritus
Genetic Epidemiology Branch
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, Md.
George J. Annas
Professor and Chair
Health Law Department
School of Public Health
Boston University
Boston
John A. Auxier
President
Auxier & Associates Inc.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Gertrud S. Berkowitz
Associate Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York City
Michael B. Bracken
Professor and Chair
Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology
School of Medicine
Yale University
New Haven, Conn.
Carter Denniston
Professor and Chair
Laboratory of Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison
John J. Mulvihill
Professor
Department of Human Genetics
Graduate School of Public Health
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Andrew F. Olshan
Assistant Professor
Department of Epidemiology
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill
Lowell Sever
Technical Group Leader - Epidemiology
Health Risk Assessment Department
Pacific Northwest Laboratory
Richland, Wash.
Allen J. Wilcox
Chair, Epidemiology Branch
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Research Triangle Park, N.C.
INSTITUTE STAFF
Richard N. Miller
Study Director
J. Christopher Johnson
Associate Study Director
Erin M. Bell
Research Associate
"A study of the health status of the veterans themselves is feasible and is being done," said committee chair William J. Schull, director, Center for Demographic and Population Genetics, School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston. "But the means do not exist to obtain adequate and reliable information on the reproductive problems that affect spouses, children, and grandchildren, and whether these problems are linked to the veterans' exposure to radiation while in the military."
U.S. servicemen who were exposed to radiation as a result of the atomic bombings in World War II and the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons during the 1940s and 1950s have expressed concern that their family members face increased health risks as a result of these exposures. Congress sought guidance from IOM about the feasibility of an epidemiologic study to determine if there is an increased risk of illness for the veterans' spouses during pregnancy, and birth defects or other health disorders in the children and grandchildren of these veterans.
An epidemiologic study would explore whether exposure to a potentially harmful substance is associated with particular health effects within a specified population. This report discusses the feasibility of epidemiologic studies of radiation exposure and potential adverse reproductive outcomes. Adverse reproductive problems might include infertility, spontaneous abortion, congenital defects, stillbirth, and infant death.
Generally the term atomic veteran encompasses anyone in the military service who participated in the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, who was involved in clean-up activities in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, or who was a prisoner of war assigned work duties at the time of or shortly after the bombings. The Defense Nuclear Agency has identified about 210,000 veterans who participated in atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons.
The committee found that there are "insurmountable difficulties" in finding and contacting a sufficiently large number of the veterans' offspring and establishing an accurate measure of radiation exposure for each atomic veteran. It also is difficult to detect the small potential risk to health at low exposure levels.
Other major barriers to conducting an epidemiologic study are the inability to identify and reliably document effects over a 50-year interval and to measure other non-radiation factors that cause reproductive problems. "These difficulties become even greater in the grandchildren of these veterans," the committee noted.
Birth defects and other problems related to reproduction are not rare in the general population. In the absence of any radiation effects, the committee noted, 15,000 children with major birth defects would be expected among the almost 500,000 offspring of the atomic veterans.
Other types of epidemiologic studies might be informative, the committee said, but these also would have limitations related to study size, population composition, uncertainty of exposure levels, and other confounding factors. Data on the occurrence of birth defects and reproductive problems following exposure to radiation could be collected from the children of people residing in areas where natural radiation is substantially higher than usual, people living near nuclear installations, individuals exposed at work, and patients undergoing nuclear medicine treatment. Data also could be collected from potential studies of non-military individuals exposed to fallout from atmospheric weapons testing and the continuing studies of the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The committee roster is below. The Institute of Medicine is a private, non-profit organization that provides health policy advice under a congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences.
Copies of Adverse Reproductive Outcomes in Families of Atomic Veterans: The Feasibility of Epidemiologic Studies are available at www.nap.edu or by calling 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Contacts: Barbara J. Rice, Media Relations Manager
Mark Parsons, Media Relations Assistant
(202) 334-2138; news@nas.edu
INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
Medical Follow-up Agency
Committee to Study the Need For, and Feasibility of, Epidemiologic Studies
of Adverse Reproductive Outcomes in the Families of Atomic Veterans
William J. Schull (chair)
Director
Center for Demographic and Population Genetics
School of Public Health
University of Texas
Houston
Fred A. Mettler Jr. (chair pro tem)
Professor and Chair
Department of Radiology
School of Medicine
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque
Robert W. Miller (chair pro tem)
Scientist Emeritus
Genetic Epidemiology Branch
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, Md.
George J. Annas
Professor and Chair
Health Law Department
School of Public Health
Boston University
Boston
John A. Auxier
President
Auxier & Associates Inc.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Gertrud S. Berkowitz
Associate Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York City
Michael B. Bracken
Professor and Chair
Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology
School of Medicine
Yale University
New Haven, Conn.
Carter Denniston
Professor and Chair
Laboratory of Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison
John J. Mulvihill
Professor
Department of Human Genetics
Graduate School of Public Health
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Andrew F. Olshan
Assistant Professor
Department of Epidemiology
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill
Lowell Sever
Technical Group Leader - Epidemiology
Health Risk Assessment Department
Pacific Northwest Laboratory
Richland, Wash.
Allen J. Wilcox
Chair, Epidemiology Branch
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Research Triangle Park, N.C.
INSTITUTE STAFF
Richard N. Miller
Study Director
J. Christopher Johnson
Associate Study Director
Erin M. Bell
Research Associate
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