Vietnam veterans and type II diabetes: a claim map

The claim map

A claim map follows one veteran's route: where they served, the condition VA presumes for that service, and the conditions that follow from it. Each box shows how the Board ruled at that step.

Where they served

Vietnam

Service in the Republic of Vietnam or its offshore waters, January 1962 to May 1975

59,560 Board decisions that name Vietnam

presumed by law38 CFR 3.309(e)

Step 1 · presumed by law

Diabetes

35.6% granted

1,175 of 3,299 veterans · all diabetes claims 24.0%

secondary38 CFR 3.310(a)

Step 2 · claimed secondary to diabetes

66.9%granted when the same decision granted the diabetes

0.6%granted when it did not

Step 2 depends on step 1: a secondary claim needs a service-connected condition to attach to.

• Nerve damage, legs (sciatic) DC 8520

  41.8% · 281 of 672

  all veterans 36.8%

• Hypertension DC 7101

  14.6% · 75 of 513

  all veterans 14.6%Also presumed on its own (PACT Act)

• Nerve damage, arms (radicular groups) DC 8513

  32.2% · 150 of 466

  all veterans 29.5%

• Erectile dysfunction DC 7522

  28.8% · 81 of 281

  all veterans 27.0%→ may open special monthly compensation

• Sleep apnea DC 6847

  18.0% · 34 of 189

  all veterans 21.6%

• Cataract DC 6027

  29.1% · 23 of 79

  all veterans 23.1%

• Kidney disease DC 7502

  58.4% · 45 of 77

  all veterans 46.7%

• Peripheral artery disease DC 7114

  45.6% · 31 of 68

  all veterans 43.5%

• Glaucoma DC 6013

  11.1% · 7 of 63

  all veterans 8.9%

• Retina disease DC 6042

  53.6% · 30 of 56

  all veterans 39.3%

• Digestive cancer DC 7343

  18.2% · 8 of 44

  all veterans 20.3%

• Retinopathy DC 6006

  28.6% · 10 of 35

  all veterans 27.7%

• Coronary artery disease DC 7005

  15.2% · 5 of 33

  all veterans 23.9%

• Acid reflux (GERD) DC 7206

  6.5% · 2 of 31

  all veterans 23.3%

• Bladder condition DC 7542

  24.1% · 7 of 29

  all veterans 39.0%

• Prostate condition DC 7527

  7.1% · 2 of 28

  all veterans 11.7%

• Arrhythmia DC 7010

  29.2% · 7 of 24

  all veterans 30.9%

• Nerve damage, legs (peroneal) DC 8521

  29.2% · 7 of 24

  all veterans 26.3%

• Hearing loss DC 6100

  4.3% · 1 of 23

  all veterans 6.5%

• Dermatitis or eczema DC 7806

  9.1% · 2 of 22

  all veterans 18.0%

• Double vision DC 6090

  14.3% · 3 of 21

  all veterans 5.6%

• Stroke (bleeding) DC 8009

  21.1% · 4 of 19

  all veterans 20.0%

• Fungal skin infection DC 7813

  26.3% · 5 of 19

  all veterans 22.2%

• Hypertensive heart disease DC 7007

  27.8% · 5 of 18

  all veterans 29.0%

• COPD DC 6604

  0.0% · 0 of 17

  all veterans 6.7%

• Chronic conjunctivitis DC 6018

  11.8% · 2 of 17

  all veterans 12.9%

• Chronic liver disease DC 7345

  31.3% · 5 of 16

  all veterans 27.3%

• Nerve damage, arm (median) DC 8515

  6.7% · 1 of 15

  all veterans 16.3%

Bar: share granted in Board decisions that name Vietnam (one count per veteran; a remand counts as not granted). Red mark: all veterans with the same claim. Step 2 counts claims decided in the same decision; conditions with at least 15 veterans.

Is type II diabetes presumptive for Vietnam veterans?

Yes. Type II diabetes is on the herbicide list in 38 CFR 3.309(e). For a veteran with qualifying service in Vietnam, VA presumes both the exposure and the link to service, so the claim turns on the service and a current diagnosis. In decisions that name Vietnam, the Board granted 35.6% of diabetes claims, against 24.0% for all veterans.

59,560 Board decisions from 2020 to 2025 name Vietnam or a place there; this page counts the claims rated under DC 7913, diabetes, and leaves out claims for type I diabetes, which is not on the list.

What conditions can be claimed secondary to diabetes?

Nerve damage in the legs was the most common: granted for 281 of 672 veterans (41.8%) in the same decisions. Nerve damage in the arms was granted 32.2%, kidney disease 58.4%, retina disease 53.6%, peripheral artery disease 45.6% and erectile dysfunction 28.8%.

Nerve damage is rated on its own, limb by limb, so a veteran can have several secondary ratings from one diabetes grant. Hypertension is weaker as a secondary claim (14.6%), but since the PACT Act it is presumed on its own for Vietnam veterans and can be claimed directly.

Does the second step depend on the first?

Almost entirely. When the same decision granted the diabetes, the conditions claimed secondary to it were granted 66.9% of the time (480 of 718). When it did not, 4 of 709 were granted.

Where the diabetes was not on appeal, usually because it was already service connected, 22.2% of the secondary claims were granted. Those claims stood on a medical opinion about the link, not on the presumption.

Why are diabetes claims denied?

For 713 denials, the Board's note named the exposure or the service in 55.7% of them, a medical link in 49.5%, and the diagnosis in 26.5%. Many denials came down to service the Board did not find qualifying, which left a direct claim to prove.

Read the decisions

Recent decisions, with the Board's reasoning as summarized by AI:

• A25109622, December 2025: type II diabetes granted, presumed from herbicide exposure during service in Vietnam, with the diagnosis shown in VA and private medical records.
• A25106467, December 2025: peripheral neuropathy of both legs granted as secondary to service-connected type II diabetes; the evidence was evenly balanced and the Board resolved the doubt in the veteran's favor.
• A25109501, December 2025: diabetes claimed from herbicide exposure, denied; the Board found no evidence of qualifying exposure in Vietnam or the other places named, and a VA examiner found the diabetes less likely than not caused by the claimed exposures.

What the data cannot tell you

The Vietnam group comes from the places each decision names; it includes ships off the coast that may not qualify. Service-connection claims only; rating appeals are left out. The second step counts only claims decided in the same decision. Denial notes are AI-extracted. These are historical outcomes, not predictions.

For representatives

• Settle the service first: land service, or a ship in qualifying waters, within the dates.
• Make sure the diagnosis is type II diabetes, documented in the records.
• After the grant, screen for the conditions that follow: nerve damage in each limb, kidney disease, retina disease and erectile dysfunction.