Welcome to the Vietnam Era Twin Registry

The Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry is a closed cohort composed of approximately 7,000 middle-aged male-male twin pairs both of whom served in the military during the time of the Vietnam conflict (1964-1975). The Registry is a United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) resource that was originally constructed from military records; the Registry has been in existence for almost 20 years. It is one of the largest national twin registries in the US and currently has members living in all 50 states. Initially formed to address questions about the long-term health effects of service in Vietnam, the Registry has evolved into a resource for genetic epidemiological studies of mental and physical health conditions. Several waves of mail and telephone surveys have collected a wealth of health-related information on Registry twins, referred to as members.  In addition to twins, selected adult offspring of twins and the mothers of those offspring are also VET Registry members. More recent data collection efforts have focused on specific sets of twin pairs and have conducted detailed clinical or laboratory testing.

Information about Selected VET Registry Research Studies

Veterans and the Public

Check out the VA Research and Development Homepage for Research Highlights and Featured Content to learn about some of the research being done by VA researchers. Browse through the Programs section of the site to find out about the many different research programs throughout the country.