Table 1.
Characteristics of Ranch Hand and Comparison Veterans Selected for the Study
| No. (%) |
P Valueb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranch Hand (n=479)a | Comparison (n=479)a | ||
| Age in 2002, y | |||
| Median (IQR) | 65.0 (58.0–70.0) | 65.0 (59.0–70.0) | .76 |
| 55–59 | 143 (29.9) | 144 (30.1) | |
| 60–64 | 91 (19.0) | 90 (18.8) | |
| 65–69 | 120 (25.1) | 120 (25.1) | |
| 70–74 | 97 (20.3) | 98 (20.5) | |
| 75–89 | 28 (5.8) | 27 (5.6) | |
| Men | 479 (100) | 479 (100) | |
| Race | |||
| Black | 23 (4.8) | 20 (4.2) | .75 |
| Non-black | 456 (95.2) | 459 (95.8) | |
| Body mass indexc | |||
| Median (IQR) | 28.2 (25.7–31.2) | 28.4 (26.1–31.0) | |
| Under weight | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Normal | 90 (18.8) | 77 (16.1) | .36 |
| Over weight | 225 (47.1) | 246 (51.4) | |
| Obese | 162 (33.9) | 156 (32.6) | |
| Received treatment for cancer within 5 yearsc | 9 (1.9) | 7 (1.5) | .80 |
| Tested positive for HIV infectionc | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Occupation group | |||
| Officer | 236 (49.3) | 228 (47.6) | |
| Enlisted flyer | 94 (19.6) | 78 (16.3) | .18 |
| Enlisted ground | 149 (31.1) | 173 (36.1) | |
| Lifetime cigarette smoking, pack-yrsc | |||
| Median (IQR) | 8.0 (0–29.3) | 7.5 (0–24.0) | .28 |
| Lifetime drinking, drink-yrsc | |||
| Median (IQR) | 21.6 (7.4–48.9) | 23.0 (9.1–53.5) | .30 |
| Lipid-adjusted TCDD, pptd | |||
| Median (IQR) | 10.5 (6.2–21.4) | 4.1 (2.9–5.8) | |
| ≤3.65 | 45 (9.4) | 196 (40.9) | |
| 3.66–5.80 | 68 (14.2) | 169 (35.3) | <.0001 |
| 5.81–10.92 | 138 (28.9) | 102 (21.3) | |
| >10.92 | 227 (47.5) | 12 (2.5) | |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; TCDD, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.
a
Numbers for some variables do not sum to group totals (n=479) because of missing data.
b
Kruskal-Wallis test for continuous variables: Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables.
c
Data was obtained during the AFHS 2002 physical examination. One pack-yr smoking was defined as 365 packs of cigarettes smoked during a single year; One drink-yr was the equivalent of drinking 1.5 ounces of an 80 proof alcoholic beverage, one 12-ounce beer, or one 5-ounce glass of wine per day for 1 year36.