U.S. Blue Water Navy Veterans of the Vietnam War: Comparisons from the Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study (VE-HEROeS)

Background

US Vietnam War Blue Water Navy veterans (BWN) conducted military operations on Vietnam's offshore waters and likely experienced various war-related exposures. The overall health of the BWN has never been systematically studied.

Purpose

Describe and compare BWN's health with other servicemembers and non-veterans of the Vietnam era.

Materials and methods

Survey of 45 067 randomly selected US Vietnam War theatre and non-theatre veterans and 6885 non-veterans.

Results

For 22 646 male respondents, self-reported health was contrasted by veteran status defined as BWN (n=985), theatre veterans (n=6717), non-theatre veterans (n=10 698) and non-veterans (n=4246). Exposure was service in the Vietnam War theatre. Collected were demographics, military service characteristics, lifestyle factors and health conditions. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were calculated using multivariable logistic regression. Controlling for cigarette smoking and other covariates, respiratory cancer risk was highest in BWN vs other veterans (theatre: aOR 1.65; 95% CI 1.09, 2.50; non-theatre: aOR 1.77; 1.13, 2.77) and to non-veterans (aOR 1.78; 1.15, 2.74). Other findings showed BWN's health risks between theatre and non-theatre veterans.

Conclusion

There was a higher risk for respiratory cancers in BWN. Other risks were less than theatre veterans but greater than non-theatre or non-veterans, indicating a potential role of military exposures in BWN's health.

Cough and cold remedies: a potential danger to patients on monoamine oxidase inhibitors

Experiments have been carried out in healthy volunteers to study the effects of phenylpropanolamine on the blood pressure and possible interactions with monamine oxidase inhibitors.In three subjects 50 mg. of phenylpropanolamine taken orally produced a modest rise of systolic pressure. Two proprietary preparations containing this dose in a slow-release form had no significant effect on the blood pressure. In all three subjects 100 mg. of phenylpropanolamine taken orally caused a more pronounced rise of systolic pressure and a rise of diastolic pressure.In contrast, 50 mg. of phenylpropanolamine orally caused a rapid and potentially dangerous rise of blood pressure in a subject taking the monamine oxidase inhibitor tranylcypromine, and a similar acute rise of blood pressure occurred in this subject when given a proprietary cough linctus containing the same dose of phenylpropanolamine. These and other results suggest that severe hypertensive episodes are more likely to occur when preparations containing phenylpropanolamine in a free form, rather than in slow-release form, are taken by patients being treated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors.The acute rise of blood pressure due to the interaction of phenylpropanolamine and monoamine oxidase inhibitors was reversed by intramuscular injection of phentolamine.