Agent Orange link to diabetes

Agent Orange was used widely in the Vietnam War

A US Air Force report suggests a significant link between the defoliant Agent Orange, used widely in the Vietnam War, and diabetes in veterans, it is reported.

Servicemen with high levels of dioxins - a chemical constituent of Agent Orange - were more likely to develop diabetes than those with low levels.

The Washington Post says it obtained the report from a "government source".

Eight other diseases, including some cancers, are already linked with Agent Orange, which was used as a herbicide to clear tracts of heavily vegetated terrain during the conflict.

It was used to destroy crops and enemy hiding places.

If diabetes were to be added to that list, it would permit tens of thousands more veterans to apply for compensation from the US government.

All Vietnam veterans are assumed for compensation purposes to have had contact with the chemical at some point.

Later problems

The finding applies to type II diabetes, which normally develops in middle age or later.

The body is unable to properly regulate the levels of sugar in the blood, and sufferers often need to take medication.

Diabetes can lead to disabling circulation problems in the extremities such as the feet, as well as an increased risk of heart disease and eye problems.

The study reported in the Washington Post only shows a link between dioxin levels in the blood and diabetes, rather than absolute proof that the chemical causes the illness.

Obesity, a risk factor for adult-onset diabetes, could allow more dioxin from the environment to be stored in the body's fat tissues.

Many Vietnamese also claim that Agent Orange exposure has caused long-term illness in both adults and their subsequent children.

Some of the diseases linked with the defoliant are cancers such as soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, prostate and cancers of the lung, larynx and trachea.

Other diseases associated to dioxins include nerve problems in the extremities, and defects such as spina bifida in children of veterans.

Veterans' groups claim many other illnesses have their roots in exposure to the herbicide and others like it used in the war.