Abstract
Spirometric restriction in herbicide-exposed U.S. Army Chemical Corps Vietnam War veterans was examined because no published research on this topic in Vietnam War veterans exists. Spirometry was conducted on 468 veterans who served in chemical operations in a 2013 study assessing the association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and herbicide exposure. Exposure was verified based on blood serum values of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Further, the association between herbicide exposure and spirometry restriction (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ≥ lower limit of normal (LLN) and FVC < LLN) was tested after adjustment for military characteristics, selected anthropometrics, and other predictors using multivariable regression. Spirometric restriction in herbicide sprayers (15.7%, 95% CI: 10.6, 20.9) was almost twice that of nonsprayers (9.91%, 95% CI: 5.9, 13.9) (p = 0.081). While spirometric restriction was not significantly associated with herbicide exposure (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.64, 95% CI: 0.82, 3.29) despite the greater prevalence of restriction in sprayers versus nonsprayers, spirometric restriction was significantly associated with race/ethnicity (aOR = 3.04, 95% CI: 1.36, 6.79) and waist circumference (aOR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.85). Because restrictive pulmonary disease may result from chemically-induced inflammation or sensitivity, research on chemical exposures and restriction in veterans should continue. Future study should include full pulmonary function testing, targeted research designs, and a wider set of explanatory variables in analysis, such as other determinants of health.
Highlights
The scientific literature on the associations between herbicide exposure and chronic disease in Vietnam Era veterans has been examined every two years by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as required by congressional mandate
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between herbicide exposure and spirometric restriction in Army Chemical Corps (ACC) veterans
The characteristics that were significantly related to herbicide exposure were age, whether a veteran served in Vietnam (p < 0.0001), the time served in the military (p = 0.017), and self-reported physician diagnosed hypertension (p = 0.011) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) status (p < 0.0001)
Summary
The scientific literature on the associations between herbicide exposure and chronic disease in Vietnam Era veterans (those who served in Vietnam and in other areas during the War) has been examined every two years by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as required by congressional mandate. The result is Veterans and Agent Orange reports, a published series that was first released in. These reports represent a comprehensive review of the scientific literature addressing the chemicals of interest with studies that span epidemiological, environmental, occupational, Int. J. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 3131; doi:10.3390/ijerph16173131 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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