The Air Force health study: An epidemiologic investigation of health effects in Air Force personnel following exposure to herbicides, serum dioxin analysis of 1987 examination results

The possible association between occupational exposure to Herbicide Orange (and its dioxin contaminant) and adverse health experienced by Air Force personnel who served in Operation Ranch Hand units in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971 was investigated. This report presents conclusions drawn from statistical analyses of approximately 300 health-related endpoints in 12 clinical areas: general health, malignancy, neurology, psychology, gastrointestinal, dermatology, cardiovascular, hematology, renal, endocrine, immunology, and pulmonary. The analyses focused on dioxin measurements in serum collected from 1,670 participants as part of the 1987 examination. Significant associations between serum dioxin levels and several lipid-related variables were found in these analyses.