The Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry: ascertainment bias.

An examination of ascertainment bias in identification of twin pairs in the Vietnam Era Twin Registry has been conducted. A complete listing of all male-male Vietnam era veteran twin pairs born in Connecticut between 1939 and 1955 was obtained (N = 150). An attempt was made to match these pairs with a listing of Vietnam era veteran twin pairs derived from the United States Department of Defense's Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) computer files. The results indicate that the DMDC files identified only 46.7% of the 150 Connecticut born Vietnam era veteran pairs. Statistically significant differences (P less than 0.05) between pairs found on the DMDC files and Connecticut veteran pairs missing from the DMDC files are observed for the following variables: a) year of discharge from military service, b) total length of active military service, c) branch of service, and d) foreign service. No consistent pattern of bias is observed for factors related to the physical and psychosocial health of veteran pairs. The implications of the ascertainment biases in the Vietnam Era Twin Registry are discussed.