Vietnam veterans health study

The Australian Vietnam Veterans Mortality and Cancer Incidence Study, produced by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and which has just been published, is the latest report from a series of studies aimed at obtaining a comprehensive picture of the health of Australians who served in the Vietnam War.

It compares mortality and cancer incidence data of nearly 60,000 male Vietnam veterans with similarly aged Australian men who did not serve. The comparison covered a period of 35 years for the mortality component of the study, and 19 years for the cancer incidence study.

War service in Vietnam has had a negative impact on the health of many service personnel. Vietnam veterans have a 6 % lower mortality rate compared to the general Australian population, while recording a 15% higher incidence of cancer.

This study suggests that the stringent recruitment requirements for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) played a part in lower mortality rates for veterans over the 35 year study period – the healthy worker effect.
Other key findings include:
· Veterans showed a higher rate of mortality or cancer incidence from conditions associated with alcohol misuse, smoking and excessive exposure to the sun.
· The suicide rate amongst Vietnam veterans, 0.7 %, did not differ from the general population. There were 421 suicide deaths of Vietnam veterans during the 35 year study period.
· Navy veterans suffered higher levels of adverse health outcomes than their colleagues in the Army and Air Force. However, the study did not find any association between the higher cancer incidence of Navy veterans and the ship on which they served or the amount of time spent in Vietnam waters.
· The study indicates that Vietnam veterans are taking positive action to maintain their health and are successfully accessing early screening and treatment.

For further information visit http://www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/2006/vietnam_health_studies/