Exposure to herbicides, particularly Agent Orange, a dioxin-containing defoliant used during the Vietnam War, may be associated with the development of diabetes, according to a new report from a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine. The link is “limited and suggestive,” say the scientists, but it’s strong enough that diabetes may get on the list of ailments for which Vietnam veterans can receive compensation almost automatically. The Vietnam Veterans of America praised the report and said they would be pushing for recognition of diabetes as a service-connected disease. Agent Orange has already been linked to a number of other serious health problems, including respiratory cancers, prostate cancer, and Hodgkins disease.
