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Agent Orange/Gulf War

News & Research:

• Agent Orange Exposure Doubles Risk of Developing Dementia, Study Finds - Military.com, 1/26/21
• Is there an association between a history of military service and cancer diagnosis? Results from a US national-level study of self-reported outcomes - Cancer Causes Control 2020 Oct 16 - "Compared to men with no military service history, men with a military service history were older (median of 65 [IQR 56, 74] vs. 53 [IQR 41, 62] years, p < 0.0001), more commonly Caucasian (71.4% vs. 61.4%, p < 0.0001), born in the US (95.6% vs. 79.5%, p < 0.0001), attained higher education level and annual household income (p < 0.0001), and consisted of more smokers(58.3% vs. 44.5%, p < 0.0001). The age-adjusted comparison demonstrated a higher cancer prevalence in men with military service history (20.5% vs. 7.6%, p < 0.0001). Specifically, genitourinary, dermatological, gastrointestinal, and hematological cancers were generally more prevalent. Adjusting for all available confounders, multivariable models showed that military service history was associated with 1.56 (95% CI 1.20-2.03), and 1.57 (95% CI 1.07-2.31) increased odds of having any cancer, and specifically genitourinary cancer, respectively"
• Hypertension in military veterans is associated with combat exposure and combat injury - J Hypertens. 2020 Jan 27 - "Overall prevalence of hypertension was 7.6%. Compared with participants who deployed but did not experience combat (mild exposure), elevated odds of hypertension were observed among those who experienced combat but not wounded (moderate exposure; AOR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.19-1.38) and those wounded in combat (high exposure; AOR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.07-2.00)"
• Combat veterans more likely to experience mental health issues in later life - Science Daily, 6/2/19 - "They found that increased rates of mental health symptoms in late life were found only among combat veterans. The increases were not seen in veterans who had not been exposed to combat"
• Legislation adds nine diseases to list of illnesses caused by Agent Orange - connectingvets.radio.com, 4/28/19 - "The conditions joining the list include prostate cancer, bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, hypertension, stroke, early-onset peripheral neuropathy, AL amyloidosis, ischemic heart disease, and Parkinson-like syndromes"
• New legislation would recognize nine more diseases caused by Agent Orange - Stripes, 4/17/19
• Final review of health problems that may be linked to Agent Orange exposure during Vietnam War - Science Daily, 3/10/16
• Agent Orange catching up to Vietnam veterans decades later - The Virginia Pilot, 2/27/16
• Coenzyme Q10 helps veterans battle gulf war illness symptoms - Science Daily, 11/3/14 - "Roughly one-third of the 700,000 United States troops who fought in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War have subsequently developed a distinct set of chronic health problems, dubbed Gulf War illness ... a high quality brand of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) -- a compound commonly sold as a dietary supplement -- provides health benefits to persons suffering from Gulf War illness symptoms ... Evidence instead links Gulf War illness to chemical exposures ... These chemicals can damage mitochondria, which generate the energy our cells need to do their jobs ... 80 percent of those who received 100mg of CoQ10 had improvement in physical function. The degree of improvement correlated to the degree in which CoQ10 levels in the blood increased ... Gulf War illness symptoms like headaches, fatigue with exertion, irritability, recall problems and muscle pain also improved" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com and MitoQ at Amazon.com.
• Agent Orange linked to skin cancer risk, report suggests - Science Daily, 1/28/14
• Study: Mental illness, not combat, causes soldier suicides - CNN, 8/6/13
• Agent Orange liked with aggressive prostate cancer - MSNBC, 5/13/13
• Missing link between mental health disorders and chronic diseases in Iraq war refugees - Science Daily, 10/15/12 - "Those who left Iraq after the war began and suffered from mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and self-rated their physical health as worse than their actual health, were 43 times more likely than pre-Gulf War immigrants to report obstructive sleep apnea (30.2 percent versus 0.7 percent) and later develop major chronic health issues such as cardiovascular disease"
• A Little-Known Benefit for Aging Veterans - NYTimes.com, 9/19/12 - "That seems to be the story with a Department of Veterans Affairs benefit called the Aid and Attendance and Housebound Improved Pension benefit, known as A&A, which can cover the costs of caregivers in the home (including sons and daughters who are paid to be caregivers, though not spouses) or be used for assisted living or a nursing home ... The benefit is not insignificant: up to $2,019 monthly for a veteran and spouse, and up to $1,094 for the widow of a veteran"
• Rising Suicides Stump Military Leaders - ABC News, 9/27/11
• Improved behavioral health needed to respond to rising number of suicides among US Armed Forces - Science Daily, 2/17/11
• Emotional effects of heavy combat can be lifelong for veterans - Science Daily, 10/6/10 - "heavy combat exposure at a young age had a detrimental effect on physical health and psychological well-being for about half of the men well into their 80s ... about half of the veterans who experienced a high level of combat showed signs of stress-related growth at mid-life, leading to greater wisdom and well-being in old age than among veterans who witnessed no combat"
• Agent Orange exposure linked to Graves' disease in Vietnam veterans, study finds - Science Daily, 6/28/10
• Possible Association Between Agent Orange Exposure And Increased Risk Of Developing Ischemic Heart Disease Or Parkinson's Disease For Vietnam Veterans - Science Daily, 7/24/09
• Agent Orange Exposure Increases Veterans' Risk Of Aggressive Recurrence Of Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 4/20/09
• Agent Orange Exposure, Vietnam War Veterans, and the Risk of Prostate Cancer - oncologystat.com, 11/6/08
• Exposure To Agent Orange Linked To Prostate Cancer In Vietnam Veterans - Science Daily, 8/5/08
• New Study Strengthens Association Of Prostate Cancer With Exposure To Agent Orange - Science Daily, 5/15/08
• Predicting Growth Hormone Treatment Success - Science Daily, 12/17/07
• To What Extent Can Age, Income, Diabetes, or Agent Orange Explain Hypertension? - Medscape, 10/10/07 - "Regular examination cycles in this study have consistently reported an increase in the prevalence of hypertension"
• Agent Orange, High BP May Be Linked - WebMD, 7/26/07
• Veterans Exposed To Agent Orange Have Higher Rates Of Prostate Cancer Recurrence - Science Daily, 5/20/07
• For Iraq Veterans, Migraines May Be Sign Of Other Problems - Science Daily, 5/3/07
• Gulf War Vets Suffer Brain Changes - WebMD, 5/1/07
• Agent Orange Causes Genetic Disturbance In New Zealand Vietnam War Veterans, Study Shows - Science Daily, 4/19/07
• Panel Refutes 'Gulf War Syndrome' - WebMD, 9/12/06
• Agent Orange study ends, no cancer link - MSNBC, 9/7/06
• Agent Orange 'caused gene damage' - BBC News, 7/28/06
• Mysterious Condition Still More Prevalent Among Persian Gulf Vets - Science Daily, 1/6/06
• Lung cancer linked to Gulf War fires - MSNBC, 12/20/04
• Autonomic Dysfunction May Play a Role in Gulf War Syndrome - Medscape, 9/30/04
• Agent Orange Linked To Cancer Risk - Intelihealth, 1/23/04
• Treatment for Gulf War Illness Works - WebMD, 3/18/03
• Solvent, Insecticide Chemicals Not Linked to Gulf War Illness - WebMD, 2/19/03
• Sarin Responsible For Gulf Syndrome? - CBS News, 1/24/03
• Leukemia, Agent Orange Link Found - Intelihealth,1/24/03
• Gulf War Chemical Cocktail May Jeopardize Reproduction - Intelihealth, 1/16/03
• Gulf War Chemicals May Harm Testes - WebMD, 1/10/03
• Don't Blame Gulf War for Illness - WebMD, 11/25/02
• Doctors Seek Cause Of Gulf War Illness - Intelihealth, 5/12/02
• Vietnam, U.S Outline Future Agent Orange Research - Intelihealth, 3/10/02
• Researchers Back Away From Conclusion That Agent Orange May Cause Cancer In Children - Intelihealth, 2/28/02
• New Gulf War Study Raises Questions - Intelihealth, 2/22/02
• Agent Orange may still affect Vietnamese - CNN, 5/14/01
• Agent Orange, Childhood Leukemia May Be Linked - WebMD, 4/19/01
• Agent Orange may increase risk of child leukemia - USA Today, 4/19/01
• Study Finds Possible Link Between Agent Orange, Children's Leukemia - Intelihealth, 4/19/01 - "One study, for example, looked at 50,000 Australian veterans of the Vietnam War. It found 13 cases of AML in their children, while in a normal population that size the number of cases expected would be between zero and six ... The strongest link was seen in children who developed the disease at the youngest ages, which suggests that the cause may stem from a parent"
• Gulf War Illness -- What Do We Know? Symptoms Are Real, but Scientists Still Squabbling Over Source - WebMD, 1/25/01
• Panel finds Pentagon 'diligent' on Gulf War illness issue - CNN, 12/21/00
• Gulf War syndrome symptoms linked to brain damage - CNN, 11/27/00
• Medical legacies of Vietnam live on - CNN, 4/28/00
• Agent Orange Effects Still Being Felt After 25 Years - Intelihealth, 4/24/00