Health status of Air Force veterans occupationally exposed to herbicides in Vietnam. II. Mortality
J. E. Michalek, W. H. Wolfe and J. C. Miner
USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, Tex. 78235-5301.
The Air Force Health Study is a 20-year comprehensive assessment of the
current health of Air Force veterans of Operation Ranch Hand, the unit
responsible for aerial spraying of herbicides in Vietnam. This report
compares the noncombat mortality of 1261 Ranch Hand veterans to that of a
comparison population of 19,101 other Air Force veterans primarily involved
in cargo missions in Southeast Asia but who were not exposed to herbicides.
The indirectly standardized all-cause death rate among Ranch Hands is 2.5
deaths per 1000 person-years, the same as that among comparison subjects.
After adjustment for age, rank, and occupation, the all-cause standardized
mortality ratio was 1.0. In adjusted cause-specific analyses, we found no
significant group differences regarding accidental, malignant neoplasm, and
circulatory deaths. These data are not supportive of a hypothesis of
increased mortality among Ranch Hands.
