Risk of Dementia in Korean Vietnam War Veterans

Background

The number of cases of all types of dementia is increasing, and a significant increase in prevalence has been noted among veterans. Evidence of an association between dementia and exposure to chemicals such as Agent Orange from the Vietnam War is still limited, and there is a reported lack of awareness.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the risk of dementia among Vietnam War veterans in Korea.

Design

This retrospective longitudinal study compared the incidence of dementia between Vietnam War veterans and the general population.

Setting

This study used data from the nationally representative Korean Vietnam War Veterans’ Health Study Cohort, a combined dataset sourced from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in Korea and the National Health Insurance Sharing Service database.

Participants

There were 191,272 Vietnam War veterans and 1,000,320 people of different ages, sexes, and residences. matched control in 2002. The total number of person-years were 18,543,181.

Measurements

The dementia group included participants who had visited a medical facility with any of the following ICD-10 codes in the follow-up periods: “F00 Dementia in Alzheimer’s disease,” “F01 Vascular dementia,” “F02 Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere,” or “F03 Unspecified dementia.”

Results

The incidence rate ratio for all types of dementia was 1.16, with higher ratios observed for vascular and unspecified dementia, particularly in the younger age groups. There was a significant increase in the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and unspecified dementia.

Conclusion

Vietnam War veterans showed an increased risk for all types of dementia. These findings are hypothesized to be due to the effects of the chemicals used during the Vietnam War, which can cause a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Further studies are warranted to investigate the potential health determinants related to the Vietnam War, focusing on the neurodegenerative effects.