: Int J Epidemiol. 2006 Oct;35(5):1220-30. Epub 2006 Mar 16.
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Int J Epidemiol. 2006 Oct;35(5):1230-2.
Association between Agent Orange and birth defects: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Ngo AD, Taylor R, Roberts CL, Nguyen TV.
School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center, USA.
BACKGROUND: The association between parental exposure to Agent Orange or dioxin and birth defects is controversial, due to inconsistent findings in the literature. The principal aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of relevant epidemiological studies that examined this association and to assess the heterogeneity among studies. METHODS: Relevant studies were identified through a computerized literature search of Medline and Embase from 1966 to 2002; reviewing the reference list of retrieved articles and conference proceedings; and contacting researchers for unpublished studies. A specified protocol was followed to extract data on study details and outcomes. Both fixed-effects and random-effects models were used to synthesize the results of individual studies. The Cochrane Q test and index of heterogeneity (I2) were used to evaluate heterogeneity, and a funnel plot and Egger's test were used to evaluate publication bias. RESULTS: In total, 22 studies including 13 Vietnamese and nine non-Vietnamese studies were identified. The summary relative risk (RR) of birth defects associated with exposure to Agent Orange was 1.95 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.59-2.39], with substantial heterogeneity across studies. Vietnamese studies showed a higher summary RR (RR = 3.00; 95% CI 2.19-4.12) than non-Vietnamese studies (RR = 1.29; 95% CI 1.04-1.59). Sub-group analyses found that the magnitude of association tended to increase with greater degrees of exposure to Agent Orange, rated on intensity and duration of exposure and dioxin concentrations measured in affected populations. CONCLUSION: Parental exposure to Agent Orange appears to be associated with an increased risk of birth defects.
PMID: 16543362 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Monday, July 2, 2007
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20 comments:
My X-Husband was in CHu Lai in 1968. He said the smell of Dioxin was so heavy in the air it made it hard for him to breath. They had just cleared that area.One year later our daughter was born with horrible birth defects!
Her abdominal wall didn't close from the sternum to the pubic. It was just opened with all her internal organs disposed. Her rib cage was pulled outward as was her pelvis. Making her feet turn to the outside when she walked. SHe didn't have a rectum or vagina. She was so horribly deformed you couldn't tell if she was male or female in the genital area. She had "Prune Belly Syndrome" Her surgeon said her internal organs looked like they had been taken out put in a pot, stirred and put back into her abdomen.She has to wear a colostomy bag for her stools and an ileostomy bag for urine.Her bladder was split as was her uterus.They were both removed when she was 6 years old. She has severe emotional,behavioral and physchological problems. SHe has grown up in hospitals. Now she has to use medicaid to pay the medical bills (she is 37).I was told by medicaid when we moved to Texas they wouldn't pay for anything for her because they just didn't have the funds. "We are a big state" we just won't cover her. I had to phone Senator Nelson's office to get her in the medicaid system. She is still treated like she is worthless.She is wearing an old prosthetic leg that doesn''t fit and has sores on her stump from it. She was told in Austin they wouldn't cover for a new one because it wasn't considered something needed. She is always shifted from one agency to another because no one wants to deal with her. I am so angry at our government I can't bare it sometimes. If anyone should get any benifits from medicaid it should be the children of vets.She didn't ask to be born like this.Our government is responsible and I don't care if they will take responsibiliy or not I know agent Orange did this to her. I have a son 8 years younger that is very healthy.Even the nurses and Doctors in hospital's hate having to take care of her. One Rn made a comment one time that Texas just couldn't afford to care for her!!
My husband is a 100% disabled service connected veteran of the Vietnam war. His disabilities are due to Agent Orange exposure.
We have two sons ages 26 and 15 that are both ADD/HAD and get skin rashes on their feet and hands.
Yes your Agent Orange exposure can be past onto your children and the above problems are just a small part of the birth defects that your children could have from Agent Orange exposure to parents that served in the Vietnam War.
My husband served 22 months in Viet Nam. Our first child died of congenital heart disease, and our second son was born with congenital glaucoma. For years we assumed that it might be due to the father's exposure to agent orange. However, I was pregnant with this child while living directly behind the ABC Cleaners in Tarawa Terrace II in Camp LeJuene. Recent publicity has noted the contaminated wells from this dry cleaner have caused such deformities as cleft lip/palate. When this child's own son was born and failed to thrive for the first 8 months, he sought genetic counseling, and was told the same gene that is responsible for the formation of the eye is also for the lip! Someone needs to be responsible for this deformity.
My dad served three tours in Vietnam in the Army and remembers being doused with Agent Orange by aircraft that thought no military was still there where they were spraying the foliage. He had to eat and drink in areas that he knows were contaminated. He now has Type 2 diabetes which the VA is covering his meds for (thank goodness!). My brother was born with a double toe and his daughter has the same defect....it's nothing major but I wonder if it could cause more serious defects down the line since they carry that gene now. I was born without my right outer ear and can only hear 33%. I also have had severe migraines (I have done numerous tests and no one can find a rhyme or reason for their cause) since I was 7 yrs. old, allergies and asthma, and depression and anxiety, and uterine fibroids. I don't know if all of these things are caused by it but I know the birth defect is. I did my own essay in high school to prove to myself that my birth defect was a cause of Agent Orange and found out tons of cases where not only American Vets' children but also Vietnamese children have horrific birth defects. My husband was born on Guam and has horrendous skin problems and rashes. I know Agent Orange was stored on Guam for awhile in barrels (I even found pictures in books proving it) and know some spilled/leaked out.....I can't help but wonder if this is why he has such horrible skin problems since most doctors have never seen anything like it. I just wish the government would ACKNOWLEDGE it so that more studies can be done to see how it is passed on and what can be done to fix it if and when it is passed on.
IM A PROUD DAUGHTER OF A VIETNAM VET THAT NEVER GOT THE GLORY MY FATHER SERVED IN NAM 1965-1966 HE WAS HEAVILY EXPOSED TO AGENT ORANGE IT WAS EVERYWHERE EVEN IN THERE FOOD IT WAS ON THERE SKIN, MY FATHER WAS 28 YEARS OLD WHEN HE RETURNED FROM NAM HE WAS ALREADY ILL HE HAD ALOT OF HEALTH PROBLEMS AND I KNEW MY FATHER TO ALWAYS BE ILL HE PASSED AWAY YOUNG 56YRS OLD DUE TO HIS EXPOSURE TO AGENT ORANGE I WAS BORN WHEN HE RETURNED FRON NAM AND I WAS BORN WITH A KIDNEY DISORDER I ALSO HAVE THE SAME ONGOING HEALTH PROBLEMS MY FATHER SUFFERED FROM IM WALKING IN HIS FOOTSTEPS IT IS AS IF I WHERE IN NAM, THE GOVENMENT NEVER HAD ANY MEDICAL HELP FOR THE CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS AND THE MONEY FROM THE AGENT ORANGE SETTLEMENT WASNT ENOUGH I RECIEVED NO HELP THE ONE FACILITY TO SEEK HELP WAS OUT OF STATE AND THE HELP WASNT ENOUGH TO EVEN MAKE THE TRIP,NOW THE VETERANS FROM IRAQ ARE GOING THRU THE SAME THING THE GOVENMENT NEEDS TO STEP UP AND IMPLEMENT A PLACE WE CAN GET CARE THEY HELP THE VETERAN ONLY NOT THE AFTER AFFECTS TO THE FAMILY, ITS LIKE PULLING TEETH TRYING TO GET HELP, NO MATTER WHAT I STICK BEHIND THE VIETNAM VETERANS AND IM PROUD FOR THERE FIGHT ANY MAN WILLING TO SPILL HIS BLOOD FOR HIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE HONORED, I WAS VERY PROUD OF MY FATHER , I HAVE TWO OTHER SIBLINGS WHO WHERE BORN PRIOR TO MY FATHER LEAVING TO NAM BUT THEY ARE IN GOOD HEALTH NO PROBLEMS. I KNOW IM NOT ALONE GOD BLESS YOU ALL YOUR IN MY HEART AND I KNOW YOUR OUT THERE LOVE SINCERLY MELISSA
My Father passed away in 1998 he was only 50 years old. He had type II diabetes. He died of a massive heart attack. I am currently 34. I was born without my right leg below the knee and several of my fingers. I also do not have a big toe on my left leg. I was born two months premature and weighed only 3 lbs 3 oz. My mother had two miscarriages prior to me and one between my brother and me. My brother was born without birth defects but he is 29 and wears bifocals, also he has terrible joint pain, as do I. I will be seeing an arthritis Doctor in August to check for some sort of autoimmune disease.
My parents were big in the Agent Orange awareness campaign in the late 70's early 80's in Ohio. My picture is in Marilyn Manson’s Autobiography Long road out of hell, it was taken at a car show with several kids who had birth defects or suspected ill affects from agent orange (Where are all of you????) and were judging the car show in Akron Ohio. Marilyn’s Dad was a Vietnam Vet. In his book he explained that he didn’t fit in with the kids because they were deformed. I was the only child in the photograph that you could tell there was anything wrong. My parents had me wear a skirt so that others could see my prosthetic leg. It was so demoralizing to see my picture there and he saying everyone was deformed. He also said that he was perfectly normal…lol. Whatever!
I was one of the first 12 members of the first class action lawsuit...which of course went nowhere. I have been in several newspaper articles in Ohio and New York in the 80’s and 90’s. My father died still fighting for me and you through the VA and the DAV. I am ready to do what it takes to bring awareness to what has happened to us. My parents worked very hard to advocate for me and for all the children who have suffered because of AO. We are adults now it is time for us to pick up where they have left off to still fight for people like Patina21’s daughter who cannot fight for herself. Please I plead with everyone let’s get organized! I don’t know how to do it but let’s figure it out. I am very comfortable with public speaking I would be willing to travel if needed.
One angle that I have been thinking about for awhile is the Vietnam angle. It seems that the American public is more sympathetic to the children of the Vietnamese that have been poisoned by AO. Maybe we as children who also have been affected need to somehow reach out to them. They are receiving a lot of press. Maybe if a group of us began trying to show up to their things we could gain attention as well, or tried to promote some sort of coalition. This of course is just a thought feel free to expand on it. I really have a lot of mixed emotions on this point considering I believe the government should take care of its own first but really that’s not where the attention is right now. I believe that if we could get a group of us together maybe…..who knows. Please again I am pleading there is power in numbers! My email is vietnamvetagentorangekid@yahoo.com please let’s keep this dialog going.
Heather
.
Jackie D.
For those Marine families who have
not heard, on July 19th, Senator
Elizabeth Dole reported to Congress
that the base water supply at Camp
Lajuene had been contaminated with
chemicals known to cause cancer,
and birth defects during the period
1957 through mid 1980's. Now just
how that was possible baffles me.
Every place I was ever stationed
they had dummies with test tubes
checking everything all the time.
Only thing I can guess is they knew
the water was bad, but had no way
of replacing it, so out of sight,
out of mind! Now, it might just
come back and bite us all.
Hey!!! I have been wanting to organize!!! It is election year and the Democrats are looking to win... now would be a great time to get noticed.... please!!!!! My e-mail is jpope76@hotmail.com....let's just try!!!! your friend jessi
Hello again,
I am with anyone who wants to organize. The Government is only taking responsibility for certain defects and learning problems. From what I understand, I had to be the vet for my daughter to be covered...not her dad.Or, if her defect was Spinal Bifida.She has so many defects I can't remember them all!
I'm also with anyone who wants to organize. My e-mail is Lilcarlton@aol.com. If you write me, please put Agent Orange in the subject so that I know it's not spam. God bless!
Angie
Almost forgot to add, I'm not telling anyone who to vote for but I know for a fact that Joe Biden strongly supports making sure Vietnam Veterans get more assistance with Agent Orange issues which is a start. I thought that was very awesom that this is one of his platforms! I have e-mailed him regarding Agent Orange with children but have not heard back yet.
I do want to get orginized. We need to be heard, and justified for the affects we are having due to the terribble effects that agent orange had on our families! I am ready and willing to do whatever is nesseccary to help get this going. I just need some gudiance. My father severed hid country over in vietnem in 1966 to 1967. After a long battle of many illnesses, he is now wasting away in a nursing home with no memory of nothing, or noone. It had been proven that agent organe is the corpret, but, the fact remains that all 6 of his children are now affected also. I, being the frist born, in 1968, have had many female problems, and have just now been told by a dr that I have a rare form of narcolepsy/catiplexsy. This is due to a malformation of brain cells at birth. I am going to do dverything I can to research this and get the word out to everyone. I also have 2 sisters who are LD and one was born with exsposed bones in her mouth, and congenital hips, where she had to where a brace most of her childhood. She now has chilren of her own, but is unable to mentally handle her live. she does the best she can. My brother committed suicide at the young age of 23, he just could not handle life. I now think that he also has brain issuses due to the agent orange that was passed down genenically by our father. My other brother is just all messed up. I know we choose our lifes path and all, but maybe, just maybe , he also lack the normal brain cells needed to make the right decions in life due to this genecic diorder from agent orange exsposer. Can anyone guide me in a direction that can start me on a path to dome answers?
You can e-mail me at t_carrillo@comcast.net please put the subject heading as "Agent orange"
Thank You for any help.
Terry
Wow! I thought I was the only one who had felt this way. I had a father who served in Viertname and Died at 54 from Agent Orange. He had a brain Stem tumor. My mother did get a settlement, but I am the sick ever since the birth of my first child, I have two. I have several Nervous system problems and other issues with chronic immune system and allergy problems. I have type 2 diabetics and every year its a new health issue. They denied my based on the fact that My father wasnt a female and I didnt have spinal bifita. Even though I have Vitamin defiencies. I think the government is terrible with the rules and regulations for everyone. They can spend moeny of weapons of mass destruction , yet they killed our parents and they served for there country , what do they have to show for it? A 400-600 pension? Then us the offspring have to beg for? and we shouldn't. What do we get a college discount at the most. We are all sick and we get nothing. our kids nothing! WE need to ban together and do something!
Hello again,
Well it's been almost a year since I posted last. I didn't write the last time I posted, that my daughter was diagnosed with Colon cancer in 2004.She had a large tumor removed. We just found out in December 2007 that her cancer has metastasized to her other organs. She is in stage 4 cancer.
AGENT ORANGE or Coincidence ? SHe is 39 years old.
My father was in Can Tho, Vietnam for 1 tour. He always said he wasn't around agent orange. Do you all realize there are many other herbicides as well? There were blue, white, pink, purple, etc. There is an entire list of chems. If you are interested, you can go to the HERBS reports on google & see just how much and where. It is a little encoded, but you can figure it out. There is also some major info at hatfieldgroup.com if you get temporarily obsessed on it like me.
I have ADHD? and my child definitely has it. I put the ? because it has been called other things at times and is also seasonal depression. I have a wierd nevus sebecous from birth. Now I see it can cause a syndrome too that basically can make the defect inside and do most anything to the brain as well. .3% of people have the nevus and a small percentage of that have the syndrome. I do not know if I have it yet. I do know I am not normal and I have a strange ability with language and writing that makes not sense to me as I grew up in very rural Tennessee. I am better at language than George Bush; I will say that. He cannot read words on speeches and cracks me up saying "nuclar" all the time like Slim Pickens in that movie where he rides the bomb out the airplane.
I would love to organize with you all. I am so disgusted. I tried calling the VA Agent Orange line. I left a message one week ago and no one has returned my call and and I got sent to a full voicemail that wouldn't accept a message. I thought that was kind of a crisis line...?? Really, what did I expect. My dad is not disabled, but has the fibrous tumors growing in several places. VA will not help anyone unless father/mother is 100% service related. Lucky for me I work & have insurance, but still cannot afford our health care system. Who can? It is just stupid.
Also, my child has asthma/allergies. Our specialist doctor said it explained everything when I told him about the agent orange, etc. I hope you all realize it was done in a biologic warfare way. If you see that blue left the airport once a week and it had the arsenic in it, orange left by 9000 gallons at one time, white 2 or 3 times just for 1969 just in that same same province.....It is disgusting and it never biodegrades for many, many years. Also, fuel was placed in the cans and it made an aerosol coming out the tailpipe. It was spilled, poured out, washed out, you name it. Also, the agents used in #40 by helicopter & trucks were all said to be unknown and friendly. I'm still not understanding that one; I saw where the community was complaining because the crops were damaged. What on earth is a friendly spray anyway? I know that is just lazy book keeping, but it sure makes a person feel uneasy at an already divinely uneasy moment.
I guess the gov doesn't even feel responsible anymore because no one can attach blame to anybody. There were so many manufacturers and we all have tons of dioxin anyway from crop spray, etc. My growing up place also had a pulp mill; it makes pasteboard boxes and I'm not sure when the business started and will need to research that one. Fat chance I have proving the origin of anything, but when you look at the schedules, you know that is the main thing. Or, our gov is so bad on environmental that everyone is soon to get sick.
How can you put all those stupid filters for allergens that cost way too much, vacuum and mop twice a week while running after an ADHD child, work, go to school to better life situation, live in poverty and know the gov did all this and feel like you are doing anything purposeful? I am not on any kind of pity trip because I know I am lucky. Just look at the Vietnamese and the poor persons fighting in the III corps.
But, why do we have to put up with such a thing and realistically what can we do? We can have a voice and can share and I know I will cast my 2 cents vote for a democrat everytime unless it is local, my neighbor, and a fine person.
Also, I was born 9 months after he returned. One does not even have to prove contact with the orange anymore for a veteran. It is just that bad. If they are 100% service related, you can get some benefits so don't anybody that can use anything overlook that one. That is true even if you are not sick.
Even the CDC says it can mutate on and on....and Institute for Medicine.
I am in the process of trying to get more studies done for the children of Vietnam Veterans. I have talked to some very powerfull resources and they have asked me to get as many people as I can with similiar, or the same medical problems as myself. Please email me if you have had: nosebleeds for any period of time. any type of deformity (including the slightest bit of deformity). gastro-intestinal issues. skin rashes, skin lesions, skin ulcerations, psorisis looking rashes, or any other skin conditions or problems. back problems, spinal pain, neck pain, headaches. immune system problems. chronic infections. re-occuring tonsil infections. miscarriage. I would also like to welcome any other health issues not mentioned above. Also, if you have children are they having any of these problems or anything else not mentioned above, like respritory problems, etc.. email:zimmermanracheal@aol.com
Hello again,
My daughter died on June 28, 2008 from cancer.
Age 39.
My cousin's daughter is 36 years old and had made peace with the fact that she is going to die.
She has suffered with debilitating headaches for most of her life. No one had any answers. She now has leukemia.
There is no proof, but there are strong suggestions that the suffering she is going through is caused by agent orange.
Her Dad is a Vietnam Veteran.
Her grandparents moved to the USA many years ago from Canada for work related reasons. My cousin met her husband and later had a family with him.
Anyway, I guess what I am saying, is that it is so terribly sad when a 36 year old has prepared themself for dying. She has no will to live anymore.
I was so excited a couple of months ago when I was watching a program on TV about a National Registry called Cells for Life in Canada. They will match up donated stem cell donors and provide them without charge. On the show they had a women who was dying of leukemia that was pregnant and they used her newborn baby's stem cells and her cancer was completely cured.
I wish my cousin's daughter would not give up.
There is hope
Bless you all that have suffered so much from this unknown deliberate act. Oxymoronal I know.
I remain
I am a 43 year old daughter of a Veteran who served in the Air Force. My dad died of lung cancer in 2006. My father was discharged in 1965 and I was born in 1996. I was a very sickly child and as an adult. I suffered from asthma and at 12 I was diagnosed with scoliosis. I was never able to have children due to endometriosis and fibroids. Due to the size and quanity of my fibroids I had to have a partial hysterectomy. I have three older sisters with no fertility problems. In my recent research on agent orange it explains many of my unanswered questions.
I am in the process of applying for benefits from the VA. I am wondered if anyone was else went through this process?
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