Vietnam veterans

From

Summary

TBD.

Related Topics

• Agent Orange

Studies and Reports

• Dalager N et al., Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among Vietnam veterans, J Occup Med. 1991 Jul;33(7):774-9.
  • Abstract. "In light of findings suggesting an increase in the risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among men exposed to phenoxyherbicides and concerns among veterans over Agent Orange exposure, a hospital-based case-control study was undertaken to examine the association between military service in Vietnam and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The cases consisted of 201 Vietnam-era veteran patients who were treated in one of 172 Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals from 1969 through 1985 with a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 358 Vietnam-era veteran patients with a diagnosis other than malignant lymphoma served as a comparison group. Military service information was obtained from a review of the veteran's military personnel records. Service in Vietnam did not increase the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma either in general (branch adjusted odds ratio = 1.03, 95% confidence interval = 0.70-1.50) or with increased latency period as defined as the duration in years from first service in Vietnam to hospital discharge. Surrogate measures of potential Agent Orange exposure such as service in a specific military branch, in a certain region within Vietnam, or in a combat role as determined by military occupational speciality were not associated with any increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma."
• The association of selected cancers with service in the US military in Vietnam. III. Hodgkin's disease, nasal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and primary liver cancer. The Selected Cancers Cooperative Study Group, Arch Intern Med. 1990 Dec;150(12):2495-505.
  • Abstract. "As part of a series of investigations into the health of Vietnam veterans, we conducted case-control studies involving 310 men with Hodgkin's disease, 48 with nasal carcinoma, 80 with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, 130 with primary liver cancer, and 1776 controls between 1984 and 1988. All men born between 1929 and 1953 and diagnosed in an area covered by eight cancer registries were considered eligible as cases; controls were recruited by random-digit dialing. Whereas the study had excellent power (96%) to detect a twofold increase in risk for Hodgkin's disease among Vietnam veterans, its ability to detect a similarly elevated risk in the other cancers was limited, ranging from 38% (nasal carcinoma) to 75% (primary liver cancer). Analyses showed that risks among Vietnam veterans relative to other men were 1.1 (Hodgkin's disease), 0.7 (nasal carcinoma), 0.5 (nasopharyngeal carcinoma), and 1.2 (primary liver cancer). None of these relative risks was significantly different from 1.0. Similar results were obtained if Vietnam veterans were compared with (1) other veterans or (2) men who never served in the military. An examination of several attributes of military service in Vietnam (eg, branch, duration of service, and other characteristics that may have been associated with the use of Agent Orange) failed to identify any groups of veterans who were at increased risk for Hodgkin's disease. Small numbers limited further analyses of nasal, nasopharyngeal, and liver cancer. These results provide no evidence that, 15 to 25 years following service in Vietnam, the risk of these malignant neoplasms is higher among veterans."
• The association of selected cancers with service in the US military in Vietnam. II. Soft-tissue and other sarcomas. The Selected Cancers Cooperative Study Group, Arch Intern Med. 1990 Dec;150(12):2485-92.
  • Abstract. "As part of a series of investigations into the health of Vietnam veterans, we conducted a population-based, case-control study of soft-tissue and other sarcomas between 1984 and 1988. All men born between 1929 and 1953 and diagnosed in an area covered by eight cancer registries were considered eligible. Controls were selected by random-digit dialing. Analyses of 342 men with pathologically confirmed sarcoma and 1776 controls showed that Vietnam veterans had a relative risk of 1.0 for sarcoma in comparison with men who did not serve in Vietnam (95% confidence interval, 0.6 to 1.6). Restriction of the analysis to the 254 men with soft-tissue sarcoma yielded a relative risk of 0.9 (95% confidence interval, 0.5 to 1.6). Several attributes of military service in Vietnam (eg, branch, duration of service, military region, and other characteristics that may have been associated with the use of Agent Orange) were examined, and none was associated with an increased risk for the development of sarcoma. Furthermore, no morphologic type of sarcoma was overrepresented among Vietnam veterans. Results were unchanged if Vietnam veterans were compared with (1) other veterans or (2) men who never served in the military. This study, which had 97% power to detect a relative risk of 2.0 for all sarcomas, provides no evidence that the risk for the development of soft-tissue or other sarcomas is increased among veterans 15 to 25 years following service in Vietnam."
• The association of selected cancers with service in the US military in Vietnam. I. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Selected Cancers Cooperative Study Group, Arch Intern Med. 1990 Dec;150(12):2473-83.
  • Abstract. "As part of a series of investigations into the health of Vietnam veterans, we conducted a population-based, case-control study of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma between 1984 and 1988. All men born between 1929 and 1953 and diagnosed as having non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in an area covered by eight cancer registries were considered eligible. Control subjects were identified by random-digit dialing from these same regions and were frequency-matched to men with lymphoma by age. Analyses of 1157 men with pathologically confirmed lymphomas and 1776 control subjects showed that the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was approximately 50% higher among Vietnam veterans (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 2.0) compared with men who did not serve in Vietnam. Vietnam veterans were also at higher risk relative to (1) men who had not served in the military, (2) other veterans, and (3) other veterans who served between 1964 and 1972. An analysis of the military histories of the 232 Vietnam veterans suggested that the relative risk (1) increased with length of service in Vietnam (P = .10), and (2) was higher among men in the sea-based Navy than among other veterans (P = .11). Little difference in risk, however, was noted according to dates of service, type of unit, military region, or any other characteristics that may have been associated with the use of Agent Orange. Although the cause remains uncertain, results of this study indicate that the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is higher among Vietnam veterans than among other men."
• Kang H et al., Soft tissue sarcoma and military service in Vietnam: a case-control study, J Natl Cancer Inst. 1987 Oct;79(4):693-9.
  • Abstract. "A case-control study was conducted in men who were of draftable age during the Vietnam conflict to examine the association of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) with military service in Vietnam as well as other host and environmental risk factors. A total of 217 STS cases selected from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology were compared to 599 controls for Vietnam service, occupational and nonoccupational exposure to various chemicals, occupational history, medical history, and life-style (smoking, alcohol, coffee, etc.). Military service information was verified by a review of the patient's military personnel records. Other information was ascertained from a telephone interview with either subjects or their next of kin. Cases and controls were stratified on the basis of the hospital type (civilian, Veterans Administration, and military); the Mantel-Haenszel estimate of the odds ratio (OR), adjusted for the effects of the stratification variable, was calculated. Vietnam veterans in general did not have an increased risk of STS when compared to those men who had never been in Vietnam (OR, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.54-1.36). Subgroups of Vietnam veterans who had higher estimated opportunities for Agent Orange exposure seemed to be at greater risk of STSs when their counterparts in Vietnam were taken as a reference group. However, this risk was not statistically significant."
• Kang H et al., Soft tissue sarcomas and military service in Vietnam: a case comparison group analysis of hospital patients, J Occup Med. 1986 Dec;28(12):1215-8.
  • Abstract. "The possibility that exposure to Agent Orange or phenoxy herbicides may have increased the risk of soft tissue sarcomas has been of genuine concern to Vietnam veterans and their families. A hospital-based case comparison group study was undertaken to examine, through a comprehensive review of medical records and military personnel records, the association between previous military service in Vietnam and soft tissue sarcomas. The case group comprised 234 Vietnam-era veteran patients who served in the US military between 1964 and 1975 and were treated in one of the 172 VA hospitals between 1969 and 1983 with a diagnosis of soft tissue sarcomas. The comparison group consisted of 13,496 patients who were systematically sampled from the same Vietnam-era veteran patient population from which the cases were drawn. Military service information, in particular Vietnam service status, for each case and control patient was obtained from a review of the patient's military personnel records archived at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri. No significant association of soft tissue sarcomas and previous military service in Vietnam was observed: odds ratio was 0.83 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.63 to 1.09."
• Greenwald P et al., Sarcomas of soft tissues after Vietnam service, J Natl Cancer Inst. 1984 Nov;73(5):1107-9.
  • Abstract. "Vietnam service and military service experiences of 281 men with sarcomas of soft tissues were compared in this epidemiologic study to a control group of men derived from driver's license files and matched on 5-year period of birth and ZIP code of residence. No direct association was found for service in Vietnam (odds ratio, 0.53; confidence limits, 0.21-1.31) or for any military service (odds ratio, 0.53; confidence limits, 0.37-0.76). A multivariate matched logistic regression analysis showed similar results for Vietnam service while controlling for military service. Results also were similar when the 130 cases who had died were compared to a second control group derived from death certificates. Finally, no significant associations were found for "Agent Orange" or other variables that might be related to herbicide exposure.
• Erickson J et al., Vietnam veterans' risks for fathering babies with birth defects, JAMA. 1984 Aug 17;252(7):903-12.
  • Abstract. "Vietnam veterans' risks for fathering babies with major structural birth defects were assessed using a case-control study. Information regarding military service in Vietnam was obtained from interviews with mothers and fathers of babies in case and control groups and from review of military records. Vietnam veterans, in general, did not have an increased risk of fathering babies with defects (all types combined; relative risk estimate, 0.97). Vietnam veterans who had greater estimated opportunities for Agent Orange exposure did not seem to be at greater risk for fathering babies with all types of defects combined. However, for a few specific types of defects the estimated risks were higher for subgroups of Vietnam veterans that may have had a greater likelihood of exposure to Agent Orange. These seemingly higher risks could be chance events, the result of some experience in the Vietnam service of the father, or the result of some other unidentified risk factor."