title: Military service in Vietnam and the risk of death from trauma and selected cancers.
abstract: The postservice mortality of a cohort of 10,716 US Marine veterans who served in Vietnam was compared with that of 9,346 Marine veterans who did not serve in Vietnam. There was a significant excess of death for Vietnam Marines from all causes and all external causes. After adjustments for age and rank in military, overall mortality continued to be statistically significant, with a relative risk of 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02 to 1.29) for Vietnam Marines compared to non-Vietnam Marines. All external causes was also significant, with a relative risk of 1.21 (95% CI = 1.00 to 1.47). The excess overall mortality was mainly due to excess deaths from external causes. The risks for several site-specific cancers were elevated but not statistically significant. Periodic follow-up of this Marine cohort should continue to determine whether there are statistically significant differences in the mortality patterns of Marine Vietnam and non-Vietnam veterans, especially for cancers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Epidemiology Service, Washington, DC 20036-3406, USA.
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003644:Death Certificates; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014744:Vietnam; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality*