Researchers are coordinating a study of 4,000 veterans who served in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps during the Vietnam era (1965-1973) designed to learn if high blood pressure (hypertension) and some chronic respiratory diseases are related to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.

The U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides on trees and vegetation during the Vietnam War.

The Army Chemical Corps Vietnam-Era Veterans Health Study follows a request by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki for VA to conduct research on the association between herbicide exposure and high blood pressure (hypertension), as a basis for understanding if hypertension is related to military service in Vietnam.

The Army Chemical Corps personnel were responsible for the maintenance and distribution or application of chemicals for military operations. Army Chemical Corps personnel who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War constitute the largest group of Army Vietnam Veterans who were thought to have had the greatest potential exposure to herbicides.

VA is also interested in learning more about the relationship between herbicide exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

As part of the study, researchers are conducting telephone interviews, reviewing medical records, and measuring the blood pressure and lung function of these veterans.

This study is a follow-up of a similar study conducted between 1999-2000 that demonstrated odds ratios for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and chronic respiratory disease were significantly elevated among those Vietnam veterans who sprayed herbicides.

Va has examined the health status of individuals who served in the Army Chemical Corps since the 1990s.

Researchers have two questions:

1.Is the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) related to Agent Orange exposure during service in Vietnam?

2.Is the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, related to Agent Orange exposure during service in Vietnam?

Researchers have already selected participants from earlier Army Chemical Corps study rosters, and they cannot accept volunteers for this study. Each veteran selected for this study represents other veterans with similar characteristics.

If you are a veteran who may have been exposed to Agent Orange, you can learn more about exposure locations and related diseases here.