China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Lifestyle and Diet
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Emitted in the atmosphere, dioxins and dioxin-like compounds tend to deposit on soil and water, therefore, they can contaminate the food chain (198, 199). The intake of dioxins from food has declined dramatically over the past 20 years (200). But it is human activity which has been primarily responsible for the generation of dioxins over the past two centuries. For example, in 1949, an explosion in a Monsanto chemical plant in West Virginia (USA) resulted in the exposure of workers to the dioxin-contaminated herbicide, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (199). During the Vietnam war (1962–1973), Agent Orange, a dioxin-contaminated herbicide containing 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, was used as a defoliant in Vietnam to reduce enemy ground cover (198–199). Studies of the Ranch Hand cohort have revealed that American military exposures to Agent Orange were associated with an increased risk of cancers and diabetes (199).
Leukemias
Published in Pat Price, Karol Sikora, Treatment of Cancer, 2020
CLL is the most common form of leukemia in Western countries, where the incidence and prevalence continue to rise. It has been estimated that in 2019, there were about 21,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States and about 4000 CLL-related deaths. CLL predominantly affects older people and is more prevalent in males.147 The median age of onset is around 72 years. It appears to be less common in certain geographical locations, such as India and China, but this requires additional studies. At present, there is no evidence to suggest that genetic, environmental, dietary, lifestyle, infection, or ionizing radiation factors are important. Pesticide exposure, in particular Agent Orange, has been considered to be a risk factor in the United States.
Risk Characterization
Published in Ted W. Simon, Environmental Risk Assessment, 2019
The herbicide Agent Orange was used extensively in Vietnam as a defoliant. Agent Orange contained 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and a contaminant generated during manufacture, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or TCDD. TCDD is highly persistent in the environment, and many parts of Vietnam remain contaminated.113 Da Nang is the largest city in central Vietnam, and was the location of a US airbase during the Vietnam conflict in the 1970s. The chair of the People’s Committee of Da Nang City was made aware of EPA’s current toxicity criterion for TCDD based on the possibility of congenital hypothyroidism in infants due to reduced maternal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
Evaluation of a Military Informed Care Training with Private Sector Healthcare Providers
Published in Military Behavioral Health, 2022
Elisa Borah, Valerie Rosen, Jessica Fink, Christopher Paine
Deployment-related stressors are much different from civilian stressors; they can include being in a foreign land, exposure to trauma, combat-related injuries or the threat of injury, and exposure to toxic agents (Coll et al., 2011). Military specific exposures should be considered as important military health history during assessment and, if possible, addressed in care plans. These exposures may include receipt of vaccinations, use of or exposure to chemical and biological weapons, radiation-related diseases, toxic embedded fragments from shrapnel injuries, amputations, traumatic brain injuries, and chronic pain. Specific war era morbidities are also important to recognize and assess for. These are often specific to combat theater regions or due to specific weapons or operational approaches used. For example, veterans deployed in support of named operations across Southwest Asia and Afghanistan may contract Gulf War Syndrome or chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia. They may be exposed to infectious diseases such as malaria, brucellosis, shigella, West Nile Virus; and may have exposure to oil well fires, depleted uranium, and sand and dust particles leading to respiratory complications. The National Academy of Sciences (2018) summarized how significantly Agent Orange was related to many health issues in Vietnam Veterans and their offspring. Post-9/11 veterans were exposed to burn pits and depleted uranium (Waszak & Holmes, 2017.) Veterans of all war eras may present with mental illness including PTSD, depression, and substance abuse related to traumatic exposures they may have faced (Hobbs, 2008).
End of life care during the COVID-19 pandemic: Professional influence on a personal loss
Published in Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 2021
My father was a decorated Vietnam veteran, who served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971. He did not speak of the war, but it left physical and emotional scars that needed no explanation. The deepest of those wounds showed itself when he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in 2017. MDS has been associated with Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.1 Dad began chemotherapy in 2017 with the goal of keeping MDS from turning into leukemia. He hated treatment but hated the idea of dying more. Dad loved being outdoors and chemotherapy made him too tired to spend his days in Florida fishing during his retirement. For the next three years, I watched my father slowly decline. We would FaceTime often and when I asked him how he was doing, it was always the same answer. “I am on the right side of the dirt, so I am fine.” From the beginning, he was clear that if/when it turned into leukemia, he did not want any more treatment. He did not want to die in the hospital. I am grateful he told me.
Large pancreatic mass with chylous ascites
Published in Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 2020
Madhuri Badrinath, Ajay Tambe, Rachana Mandru, Sheikh Saleem, David Heisig
A 69-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of reduced appetite, abdominal pain, and distension in the absence of fever, chills, weight loss, or change in bowel habits. He was a nonsmoker, denied alcohol use, and had a noncontributory past medical history as well as no family history of cancer. A farmer, he reported exposure to Agent Orange many years earlier. His abdomen was soft, distended, and nontender with fluid thrill and positive shifting dullness. The only abnormal laboratory test was a mildly elevated lactate dehydrogenase of 254 U/L (normal range 122–225 U/L). Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed a 20 × 10 × 17 cm soft tissue mass impinging the distal duodenum, replacing the proximal pancreatic parenchyma, and encasing the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries; ascites, lymphadenopathy, and multiple omental nodules were seen (Figure 1). No cirrhosis or hepatomegaly was noted.