Corrigendum: Health Status of Army Chemical Corps Vietnam Veterans Who Sprayed Defoliant in Vietnam

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dalager, N. A. ; Kang, H. K. ; Needham, L. L.
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: U.S. Army Chemical Corps veterans handled and sprayed herbicides in Vietnam resulting in exposure to Agent Orange and its contaminant 2,3,7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD or dioxin). This study examined the long-term health effects associated with herbicide exposure among these Vietnam veterans. METHODS: A health survey of these 1,499 Vietnam veterans and a group of 1,428 non-Vietnam veterans assigned to chemical operations jobs was conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) system. Exposure to herbicides was assessed by analyzing serum specimens from a sample of 897 veterans for dioxin. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the risk of selected medical outcomes associated with herbicide exposure. RESULTS: Odds ratios for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and chronic respiratory disease were elevated, but not significantly (P>0.05) for those who served in Vietnam. However, they were significantly elevated among those Vietnam veterans who sprayed herbicides: diabetes, odds ratio (OR)=1.50 (95% confidence interval [95%CI]=1.15-1.95); heart disease, OR=1.52 (1.18-1.94); hypertension, OR=1.32 (1.08-1.61); and chronic respiratory condition, OR=1.62 (1.28-2.05). Hepatitis was associated with Vietnam service, but not with herbicide application. CONCLUSIONS: Vietnam veterans who were occupationally exposed to herbicide experienced a higher risk of several chronic medical conditions relative to other non-Vietnam veterans. A potential selection bias is of concern. However, there were relatively high participation rates in both the Vietnam and non-Vietnam veteran groups, and the prevalence rates of some of these medical conditions among non-Vietnam veterans were comparable to general populations. Therefore, self-selection factors are considered unlikely to have biased the study results. CORRIGENDUM: Am J Ind Med 2018 Apr; 61(4):358. In the following phrase entailing the expression of a unit in the footnote of Table III on page 879 was published as: *Measured in parts per trillion (ppt), lipid corrected (ng/g serum lipid) The correct text should have read: *Measured in parts per trillion (ppt), lipid corrected (pg/g serum lipid) [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Chemical Warfare Agents Chemistry Dioxins Environmental Monitoring Herbicides Occupational Health Poisoning Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Agent Orange; Diabetes; Dioxin; Herbicide; Veterans; Vietnam Herbicides; Exposure-levels; Exposure-assessment; Chemical-warfare-agents; Chemical-reactions; Dioxides; Dioxins; Poisons;
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Georgia ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1 pdf page
• Volume:
  49
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037401
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2006 Nov; 49(11):875-884
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Han K. Kang, Director, Environmental Epidemiology Service (135), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20420
• Email:
  han.kang@va.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS RN 1746-01-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:65e374a09d4d091c5a14df6eabae03fdc68c84f09c20e7228ebf788d1a6d1e57d59b5478eab641f700596f3c3612f82e9bf5d9f51874cc7280d396b48104f62b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231571/cdc_231571_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 110.28 KB ]