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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Health status of Vietnam veterans. III. Reproductive outcomes and child health. The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam Experience Study.

The Vietnam Experience Study was a multidimensional assessment of the health of Vietnam veterans. From a random sample of enlisted men who entered the US Army from 1965 through 1971, 7924 Vietnam and 7364 non-Vietnam veterans participated in a telephone interview; a random subsample of 2490 Vietnam and 1972 non-Vietnam veterans also underwent a comprehensive medical examination. During the telephone interview, Vietnam veterans reported more adverse reproductive and child health outcomes than did non-Vietnam veterans. However, children of Vietnam veterans were not more likely to have birth defects recorded on hospital birth records than were children of non-Vietnam veterans. The rates of total, major, minor, and suspected defects were similar among children of Vietnam and non-Vietnam veterans (odds ratios, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, and 0.9, respectively). These results are consistent with the findings of three epidemiologic studies conducted since 1981 on the relationship of Vietnam service and birth defects in children of male veterans.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed2006

Health status of Army Chemical Corps Vietnam veterans who sprayed defoliant in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: U.S. Army Chemical Corps veterans handled and sprayed herbicides in Vietnam resulting in exposure to Agent Orange and its contaminant 2,3,7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD or dioxin). This study examined the long-term health effects associated with herbicide exposure among these Vietnam veterans. METHODS: A health survey of these 1,499 Vietnam veterans and a group of 1,428 non-Vietnam veterans assigned to chemical operations jobs was conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) system. Exposure to herbicides was assessed by analyzing serum specimens from a sample of 897 veterans for dioxin. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the risk of selected medical outcomes associated with herbicide exposure. RESULTS: Odds ratios for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and chronic respiratory disease were elevated, but not significantly (P>0.05) for those who served in Vietnam. However, they were significantly elevated among those Vietnam veterans who sprayed herbicides: diabetes, odds ratio (OR)=1.50 (95% confidence interval [95%CI]=1.15-1.95); heart disease, OR=1.52 (1.18-1.94); hypertension, OR=1.32 (1.08-1.61); and chronic respiratory condition, OR=1.62 (1.28-2.05). Hepatitis was associated with Vietnam service, but not with herbicide application. CONCLUSIONS: Vietnam veterans who were occupationally exposed to herbicide experienced a higher risk of several chronic medical conditions relative to other non-Vietnam veterans. A potential selection bias is of concern. However, there were relatively high participation rates in both the Vietnam and non-Vietnam veteran groups, and the prevalence rates of some of these medical conditions among non-Vietnam veterans were comparable to general populations. Therefore, self-selection factors are considered unlikely to have biased the study results.

2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid↗
PubMed1988

Health status of Vietnam veterans. II. Physical Health. The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam Experience Study.

The Vietnam Experience Study was a multidimensional assessment of the health of Vietnam veterans. From a random sample of enlisted men who entered the US Army from 1965 through 1971, 7924 Vietnam and 7364 non-Vietnam veterans participated in a telephone interview; a random subsample of 2490 Vietnam and 1972 non-Vietnam veterans also underwent a comprehensive medical examination. During the telephone interview, Vietnam veterans reported current and past health problems more frequently than did non-Vietnam veterans, although results of medical examinations showed few current objective differences in physical health between the two groups. The Vietnam veterans had more hearing loss. Also, among a subsample of 571 participants who had semen samples evaluated, Vietnam veterans had lower sperm concentrations and lower mean proportions of morphologically "normal" sperm cells. Despite differences in sperm characteristics, Vietnam and non-Vietnam veterans have fathered similar numbers of children.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Health status of Vietnam veterans. I. Psychosocial characteristics. The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam Experience Study.

The Vietnam Experience Study was a multidimensional assessment of the health of Vietnam veterans. From a random sample of enlisted men who entered the US Army from 1965 to 1971, 7924 Vietnam and 7364 non-Vietnam veterans participated in a telephone interview; a random subsample of 2490 Vietnam and 1972 non-Vietnam veterans also underwent a comprehensive health examination, including a psychological evaluation. At the time of the study, the two groups of veterans were similar in terms of level of education, employment, income, marital status, and satisfaction with personal relationships. Certain psychological problems, however, were significantly more prevalent among Vietnam veterans than among non-Vietnam veterans. These included depression (4.5% of Vietnam veterans vs 2.3% of non-Vietnam veterans), anxiety (4.9% vs 3.2%), and alcohol abuse or dependence (13.7% vs 9.2%). About 15% of Vietnam veterans experienced combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder at some time during or after military service, and 2.2% had the disorder during the month before the examination.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Sleep disturbances in the Vietnam generation: findings from a nationally representative sample of male Vietnam veterans.

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed questionnaire items that address complaints about sleep from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, a nationally representative sample of the 3.1 million men and women who served in Vietnam. This study compared the frequency of nightmares and difficulties with sleep onset and sleep maintenance in male Vietnam theater veterans with male Vietnam era veteran and male civilian comparison subjects. It focused on the role of combat exposure, nonsleep posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, comorbid psychiatric and medical disorder, and substance abuse in accounting for different domains of sleep disturbance. METHOD: The authors undertook an archival analysis of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study database using correlations and linear statistical models. RESULTS: Frequent nightmares were found exclusively in subjects diagnosed with current PTSD at the time of the survey (15.0%). In the sample of veterans who served in Vietnam (N = 1,167), combat exposure was strongly correlated with frequency of nightmares, moderately correlated with sleep onset insomnia, and weakly correlated with disrupted sleep maintenance. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that in Vietnam theater veterans, 57% of the variance in the frequency of nightmares was accounted for by war zone exposure and non-sleep-related PTSD symptoms. Alcohol abuse, chronic medical illnesses, panic disorder, major depression, and mania did not predict the frequency of nightmares after control for nonsleep PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent nightmares appear to be virtually specific for PTSD. The nightmare is the domain of sleep disturbance most related to exposure to war zone traumatic stress.

Combat Disorders↗
PubMed1987

Postservice mortality among Vietnam veterans. The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam Experience Study.

The postservice mortality (through December 1983) of a cohort of 9324 US Army veterans who served in Vietnam was compared with that of 8989 Vietnam-era Army veterans who served in Korea, Germany, or the United States. Over the entire follow-up period, total mortality in Vietnam veterans was 17% higher than for other veterans. The excess mortality occurred mainly in the first five years after discharge from active duty (rate ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.08 to 1.96) and involved motor vehicle accidents, suicide, homicide, and accidental poisonings. Thereafter, mortality among Vietnam veterans was similar to that of other Vietnam-era veterans, except for drug-related deaths, which continued to be elevated. An unexpected finding was a deficit in deaths from diseases of the circulatory system among Vietnam veterans. The excess in postservice mortality due to external causes among Vietnam veterans is similar to that found among men returning from combat areas after World War II and the Korean War.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed2001

Closely related HIV-1 CRF01_AE variant among injecting drug users in northern Vietnam: evidence of HIV spread across the Vietnam-China border.

To investigate the nature of recent HIV outbreaks among injecting drug users (IDUs) near the Vietnam-China border, we genetically analyzed 24 HIV-positive blood specimens from 2 northern provinces of Vietnam (Lang Son and quang Ninh) adjacent to the China border, where HIV outbreaks among IDUs were first detected in late 1996. Genetic subtyping based on gag (p17) and env (C2/V3) sequences revealed that CRF01_AE is a principal strain circulating throughout Vietnam, including the provinces near the China border. The majority of CRF01_AE sequences among IDUs in Quang Ninh and Lang Son showed significant clustering with those found in nearby Pingxiang City of China's Guangxi Province, sharing a unique valine substitution 12 amino acids downstream of the V3 loop. This particular subtype E variant, uniquely found among IDUs in northern Vietnam and southeastern China, is designated E(v). The genetic diversity of CRF01_AE distributed in Quang Ninh (1.5 +/- 0.6%) and Pingxiang City (1.9 +/- 1.2%) was remarkably low, indicating the emerging nature of HIV spread in these areas. It is also noted that the genetic diversity of CRF01_AE among IDUs was consistently lower than that in persons infected sexually, suggesting that fewer closely related CRF01_AE variants were introduced into IDUs and, conversely, that multiple strains of CRF01_AE had been introduced via the sexual route. The data in the present study provide additional evidence that HIV outbreaks among IDUs in northern Vietnam were caused by the recent introduction of a highly homogeneous CRF01_AE variant (E(v)) closely related to that prevailing in nearby southern China.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Differential effects of Vietnam combat experiences vs. criminality on dangerous behavior by Vietnam veterans with schizophrenia.

Psychiatric patients with Vietnam combat experience have often been described as violent, and it has been hypothesized that their violence may be due either to Vietnam combat experiences or longstanding psychopathic tendencies, including criminality before entering the service. Criminal and military history of Vietnam era veterans diagnosed schizophrenic by DSM-III criteria were examined in relation to inpatient measures of assault. Seventy subjects were examined, of which 27 were in Vietnam and 19 of these 27 in combat. By using multiple regression techniques, it was determined that certain violent tendencies in schizophrenic Vietnam era veterans are better related to their war experiences than premorbid criminal behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The lived experience of women military nurses in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

The lived experience of 24 military nurses during the Vietnam war is described in addition to common elements of their lives after returning from Vietnam. In-depth interviews generated data about personal and professional aspects of the lives of women nurses in the war zone. Data analysis incorporated the qualitative methods of Colaizzi, Lincoln and Guba, and Van Manen. Findings revealed that the nurses struggled with moral and ethical dilemmas of wartime nursing, felt out-of-place, and lacked privacy. The nurses described a deep and special bonding, and many found serving in Vietnam to be the most rewarding experience in their careers. The Vietnam War continues to have an effect on the lives of the nurses who served there. They balance their personal and professional growth gleaned from this experience with the physical and emotional stresses experienced during the war and since the war. The findings of this study have implications for further research about nurses in Vietnam and nurses who have served in other wars.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Vietnam era and Vietnam combat veterans among the homeless.

Of 10,524 homeless veterans assessed in a 43-site VA program, 50 percent served during the Vietnam War era, compared to only 29 percent of all veterans in the general population. This reflects the greater risk of homelessness among men aged 30-44 rather than the impact of Vietnam Era service. The proportion of homeless veterans who served in the Vietnam Theater (44.9 percent), and the proportion exposed to combat fire (40.5 percent) were similar to those of nonhomeless veterans. Homeless combat veterans who are not White were more likely to have psychiatric, alcohol, and medical problems than homeless noncombat Vietnam veterans who are not White.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Drugs, Vietnam, and the Vietnam veteran: an overview.

Highlights are presented on the issue of drug use among servicemen in Vietnam and its aftereffects. Two stages of Vietnam drug use are identified-a period of increasing marijuana use followed by the 1970 influx of highly potent heroin to which 1/5 of the enlisted troops were addicted at some time during their tour. The major contributing factors appear to be: (1) the need of troops in stressful combat situations for self-medication, escape, and hedonistic indulgence; (2) the relaxation of taboos against drug use in the United States; and (3) the availability of illicit drugs at low cost, which was apparently the result of profiteering by a number of South Vietnamese officials. Related to the above was the growing disenchantment with the war and the progressive deterioration in unit morale. These drugs are seen as serving many of the functions performed by alcohol in earlier millitary conflicts. There is no hard evidence that duty performance in Vietnam was seriously affected by drug use. Since 95% of those who were addicted to narcotics in Vietnam have not become readdicted, the situation does not appear to be as severe as originally supposed. Myths as to the persistence and intractibility of physiological narcotic addiction were dispelled. A major negative effect has been the difficulty that soldiers with less-than-honorable discharges due to drug abuse have had in obtaining jobs. Other long-term effects from drug use are less clear and are difficult to separate from the overall effects of the war.

Cannabis↗
PubMed1994

Detection of HTLV-II-seropositive blood donors in South Vietnam but not in North Vietnam.

Approximately 1% (4/500) of blood donors exhibited seropositivity for HTLV-II in South Vietnam, but none (0/500) did in North Vietnam. Further, all individuals seropositive for HTLV-II were intravenous drug abusers who were seronegative for HIV-1 and HTLV-I. These findings suggest that HTLV-II infection may be specifically prevalent in drug abusers in South Vietnam.

Blood Donors↗
PubMed2004

Communication ambivalence toward elders: data from North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the U.S.A.

This study investigated young adults' beliefs about their intra- and intergenerational communications in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the U.S.A. Respondents perceived their interactions with older people as simultaneously more problematic (e.g., older people seen as more nonaccommodative) and more pleasing (e.g., older adults seen as more accommodative) than their interactions with other young adults. Young adults also strongly felt more of an obligation to be respectful, and to a lesser degree avoidant, in their communication with older adults than to those in their peer age group. Large-scale linguistic, historical, political, and cultural differences notwithstanding, a similar intergenerational communication profile emerged among the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, and American respondents in their reports of their communication with people of different ages. Intergroup, cultural, identity, and modernity issues were invoked to account for these findings.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1996

The Australian Vietnam Veterans Health Study: III. psychological health of Australian Vietnam veterans and its relationship to combat.

BACKGROUND: Self-reported psychiatric status of Australian Vietnam war veterans was determined 20-25 years after the war and its relation to combat was investigated. METHOD: A simple random sample of Australian Army Vietnam veterans was interviewed nationally using standardized interviews and self-completion tests to assess the prevalence of lifetime and current psychiatric illness and its relationship to combat. Army records were used to extract data on the cohort for use in regression-based adjustment for non-response. RESULTS: The conditions mainly affecting the Australian veterans were alcohol abuse or dependence, post-traumatic stress disorder, somatization disorder were significantly related to combat exposure but not with posting to a combat unit. Less than half of the current one-month diagnoses were related to combat, possibly because of low power conferred by the relative rarity of these conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm a range of psychological problems in former warriors may linger 20 or more years from their war exposure and may be directly affected by exposure to war trauma.

Australia↗
PubMed2005

The role of public policies in reducing smoking and deaths caused by smoking in Vietnam: results from the Vietnam tobacco policy simulation model.

A simulation model is developed for Vietnam to project smoking prevalence and associated premature mortality. The model examines independently and as a package the effects of five types of tobacco control policies: tax increases, clean air laws, mass media campaigns, advertising bans, and youth access policies. Predictions suggest that the largest reductions in smoking rates will result from implementing a comprehensive tobacco control policy package. Significant inroads may be achieved through tax increases. A media campaign along with programs to publicize and enforce clean air laws, advertising bans and youth access laws would further reduce smoking rates. Tobacco control policies have the potential to make large dents in smoking rates, which in turn could lead to many lives saved. In the absence of these measures, deaths from smoking will increase. The model also helps to identify information gaps pertinent both to modeling and policy-making.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Vietnam memories: Australian army nurses, the Vietnam war, and oral history.

This paper is about women nurse veterans from the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) who served in Vietnam. I aim to develop an understanding about these nurses that might place their experiences into a wider context. My conclusions provide starting points for future studies on myth, remembering and oral history.

Australia↗