'Ranch Hand' study confirms agent orange, diabetes link.A U.S. Air Force Health Study on the health effects exposure to herbicides in Vietnam offered the strongest evidence to date that Agent Orange is associated with adult-onset (Type II) diabetes. This supports the findings from earlier reports in 1992 and 1997. Legislation signed into law in 2001 added Type II diabetes Type II diabetes Type II diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and usually appears in middle aged adults. It is often associated with obesity and may be delayed or controlled with diet and exercise. Mentioned in: Diabetic Ketoacidosis to the list of diseases presumed to be caused by herbicide herbicide (hr`bəsīd'), chemical compound that kills plants or inhibits their normal growth. A herbicide in a particular formulation and application can be described as selective or nonselective. exposure. The 20-year Air Force study, involving some 1,951 pilots and ground crew members, reported a 166% increase in diabetes requiring insulin control in subjects with the highest levels of dioxin dioxin Aromatic compound, any of a group of contaminants produced in making herbicides (e.g., Agent Orange), disinfectants, and other agents. Their basic chemical structure consists of two benzene rings connected by a pair of oxygen atoms; when substituents on the rings are . However, the report said there was no link between herbicides such as Agent Orange and heart disease or cancer. The report, along with many other studies on herbicide and dioxin exposure, will be reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences. The Ranch ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. Hand Study was named after the operation responsible for spraying herbicides in Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 to deny cover and destroy crops of the North Vietnamese North Vietnam A former country of southeast Asia. It existed from 1954, after the fall of the French at Dien Bien Phu, to 1975, when the South Vietnamese government collapsed at the end of the Vietnam War. It is now part of the country of Vietnam. Army. Since the first examination in 1982, the Air Force has tried to determine whether long-term health effects exist in the Ranch Hand pilots and ground crews, and if these effects can be attributed to the herbicides used in Vietnam, mainly Agent Orange and its contaminant contaminant /con·tam·i·nant/ (kon-tam´in-int) something that causes contamination. contaminant something that causes contamination. , dioxin. Results from the 2002 physical examination support adult-onset diabetes as the most important health problem seen in the Air Force Health Study. They suggest that as dioxin levels increase, not only are the presence and severity of adult-onset diabetes increased, but the time to onset of the disease is decreased. |
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