Serum TCDD and health in veterans of Operation Ranch Hand: An update
Joel E. Michalek, PhD
Air Force Research Laboratory
Brooks Air Force Base, Texas 78235-5250
To address concerns among Vietnam War veterans about the consequences of exposure to Agent Orange and other phenoxy herbicides contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), Congress in late 1978 directed the Air Force to begin planning the Air Force Health Study to evaluate the health, survival and reproductive experience of Air Force (Operation Ranch Hand) veterans. The Air Force Health Study is a 20-year prospective epidemiological study begun in 1982 to determine whether veterans of Operation Ranch Hand, the men who conducted herbicide spray operations during the Vietnam War, have experienced adverse health as a consequence of exposure to herbicides or their TCDD contaminan. To date, the study has found an adverse relation between TCDD level and the risk of type II diabetes, and a suggestive relation between paternal TCDD level and the risk of spina bifida in offspring. This update summarizes results, studies in progress, and planned activities.
Learning Objectives: Describe a 20-year prospective epidemiologic study of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange
Keywords: Agent Orange,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.