This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (107)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

I. Physical Health

William H. Wolfe, MD; Joel E. Michalek, PhD; Judson C. Miner, DVM; Alton Rahe, MA; John Silva, MD; Wanda F. Thomas, MS; William D. Grubbs, PhD; Michael B. Lustik, MS; Theodore G. Karrison, PhD; Russell H. Roegner, PhD; David E. Williams, MD

JAMA. 1990;264(14):1824-1831.

Abstract
The Air Force Health Study is a 20-year comprehensive assessment of the health of Air Force veterans of Operation Ranch Hand, the unit responsible for aerial spraying of herbicides in Vietnam. The study compares the health and noncombat mortality of Ranch Hand veterans with a comparison group of Air Force veterans primarily involved with cargo missions in Southeast Asia but who were not exposed to herbicides. This report summarizes the health of these veterans as determined at the third in a series of physical examinations. Nine hundred ninety-five Ranch Hands and 1299 comparison subjects attended the second follow-up examination in 1987. The two groups were similar in reported health problems, diagnosed skin conditions, and hepatic, cardiovascular, and immune profiles. Ranch Hands have experienced significantly more basal cell carcinomas than comparison subjects. The two groups were not different with respect to melanoma and systemic cancer.

(JAMA. 1990;264:1824-1831)

Author Affiliations
From the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine (AFSC), Brooks Air Force Base, Tex (Drs Wolfe, Michalek, and Miner); QuesTech Inc, San Antonio, Tex (Mr Rahe); the Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md (Dr Silva); Science Applications International Corp, McLean, Va (Ms Thomas and Mr Lustik and Drs Grubbs and Roegner); the Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill (Dr Karrison); and Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, Calif (Dr Williams).

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Epidemiology Division, USAF School of Aerospace Medicine (AFSC), Brooks Air Force Base, TX 78235-5301 (Dr Wolfe).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Covariation of Psychological Attributes and Incident Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Air Force Veterans of the Vietnam War
Boyle et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2006;68:844-850.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Insulin Sensitivity following Agent Orange Exposure in Vietnam Veterans with High Blood Levels of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
Kern et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2004;89:4665-4672.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Agent Orange and Cancer: An Overview for Clinicians
Frumkin
CA Cancer J Clin 2003;53:245-255.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

RE: "PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS INFECTION IN THE US MILITARY: A SERO-EPIDEMIOLOGIC SURVEY OF 21,000 TROOPS"
Burnham
Am J Epidemiol 2002;155:778-779.
FULL TEXT  

Serum Dioxin, Insulin, Fasting Glucose, and Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin in Veterans of Operation Ranch Hand
Michalek et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 1999;84:1540-1543.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Effects of Agent Orange Exposure
JAMA 1995;273:1494-1494.
 

NO EVIDENCE OF ADVERSE EFFECTS FROM HERBICIDES USED IN VIETNAM
JWatch General 1990;1990:6-6.
FULL TEXT  

Health Status of Air Force Veterans Occupationally Exposed to Herbicides in Vietnam: II. Mortality
Michalek et al.
JAMA 1990;264:1832-1836.
ABSTRACT