Agent Orange and type 2 diabetes
Vietnam veterans with type 2 diabetes are
eligible for disability compensation from the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) based on their presumed exposure
to Agent Orange or other herbicides. In 2000, the VA added type 2 diabetes
to the list of "presumptive diseases associated with herbicide exposure."
That action followed a report from the National Academy of Sciences that
found "limited/suggestive" evidence of an association between the
chemicals used in herbicides during the Vietnam War, such as Agent Orange,
and type 2 diabetes.
The evidence of a link between exposure to Agent
Orange (or dioxin, the problematic contaminant in Agent Orange) and
diabetes is modest. Most of the association between Agent Orange and
diabetes comes from studies of people who lived near or worked at
manufacturing plants that produced large quantities of Agent Orange
dioxin. In those cases, there appears to be some relationship between
Agent Orange exposure and increased insulin resistance, the precursor to
type 2 diabetes. In general the exposure that Vietnam veterans had to
Agent Orange was much less than in the populations studied by scientists.
Still, the VA has added diabetes to the list of conditions for which
Vietnam veterans are eligible for disability compensation.
What is Agent Orange and what is dioxin?
Agent Orange was a herbicide used in Vietnam to
kill unwanted plants and to remove leaves from trees which otherwise
provided cover for the enemy. In the 1970s some veterans became concerned
that exposure to Agent Orange might cause delayed health effects. The
concern about Agent Orange focuses not on the active ingredient, an
herbicide with little or no effect on animals, but on a trace contaminant
in the herbicide, dioxin. Studies have shown that dioxin and dioxin-like
compounds (DLCs) can cause a variety of illnesses in laboratory animals.
More recent studies have suggested that the chemical may be related to a
number of types of cancer and other disorders.
In 1978, the Veterans Administration set up the
Agent Orange Registry health examination program for Vietnam veterans who
were concerned about the possible long-term medical effects of exposure to
Agent Orange. Vietnam veterans who are interested in participating in this
Agent Orange program should contact the
nearest
VA medical center for an examination.
Veterans who participate in the Agent Orange
examination program are asked a series of questions about their possible
exposure to herbicides or Agent Orange in Vietnam. A medical history is
taken, a physical examination is performed, and there is a series of basic
laboratory tests. If medically required, consultations with other health
specialists are scheduled. However, no special Agent Orange tests are
offered since there is no test to show if any individual veteran's medical
problem was caused by Agent Orange or other herbicides used in Vietnam.
There are tests that show body dioxin levels, but such tests are not done
by the VA because there is a serious question about their value to
veterans. The VA simply makes a presumption of Agent Orange exposure for
Vietnam veterans.
In its 1994 report on Agent Orange, the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) concluded that individual dioxin levels in
Vietnam veterans are usually not meaningful because of background
exposures to dioxin, poorly understood variations among individuals in
dioxin metabolism, relatively large measurement errors, and exposure to
herbicides that did not contain dioxin.
Benefits of the Agent Orange examination
The veteran is informed of the results of the
Agent Orange examination during a personal interview and gets a follow-up
letter further describing the findings. Each veteran is given the
opportunity to ask for an explanation and advice. Where medically
necessary, a follow-up examination or additional laboratory tests are
scheduled. The examination and tests sometime reveal previously undetected
medical problems. These discoveries permit veterans to get prompt
treatment for their illnesses. Some veterans feel they are in good health,
but are worried that exposure to Agent Orange and other substances may
have caused some hidden illness. The knowledge that a complete medical
examination does not show any problems can be reassuring or helpful to
Registry participants. All examination and test results are kept in the
veteran's permanent medical record. These data are entered into the VA
Agent Orange Registry.
Vietnam veterans can get medical treatment for
Agent Orange-related illnesses. Under Section 102, Public Law 104-262, the
Veterans' Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996, the VA shall furnish
hospital care and medical services, and may furnish nursing home care to
veterans exposed to herbicides in Vietnam. There are some restrictions.
The VA cannot provide such care for a 1) disability which VA determines
did not result from exposure to Agent Orange, or 2) disease which the NAS
has determined that there is "limited/suggestive" evidence of
no association between occurrence of the
disease and exposure to a herbicide agent.
The VA pays disability compensation to Vietnam
veterans with injuries or illnesses incurred in or aggravated by their
military service. Veterans do not have to prove that Agent Orange caused
their medical problems to be eligible for compensation. Rather, the VA
must determine that the disability is "service-connected." A Veterans
Services Representative, at a VA medical center or regional office, can
explain the compensation program in greater detail and assist veterans who
need help in applying. For more information about the VA's Agent Orange
Program, call the toll-free helpline 1-800-749-8387. For disability
compensation program information, call toll-free 1-800-827-1000.
Web Resources
Learn more about the
Vietnam Veterans of America's Agent Orange / Dioxin Committee.
The
National Veterans Legal Services Program provides legal services to
veterans on matters relating to their service and has further information
on the VA's benefits regarding Agent Orange on their website.
Additional information on how the VA is handling
Agent Orange claims can be found at
http://www.va.gov/agentorange.
The National Academy of Sciences report on Agent
Orange and diabetes can be found at
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9982.html.
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