Camp Lejeune Linked to Type-2 Diabetes

October 20, 2025

Camp Lejeune has become nationally known for the toxic exposures that were tragically imposed upon Veterans who served there between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. The most well-known toxins related to Camp Lejeune include TCE, PCE, Benzene & Vinyl Chloride. In response to these conceded exposures, the VA has adopted a list of presumptive conditions that include adult leukemia, aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Parkinson's disease. But the toxins confirmed at Camp Lejeune go beyond TCE, PCE, Benzene & Vinyl Chloride, and as such, the presumptive conditions adopted by the VA remain notably inadequate.

Exposures at Camp Lejeune Include Many Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

The EPA placed Camp Lejeune on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List in 1989. In addition to the principal contaminants (TCE, PCE, Benzene, and Vinyl Chloride), the EPA also identified groundwater contaminants posing an unacceptable risk to human health. The EPA’s list of contaminants at Camp Lejeune specifically includes numerous heavy metals such as Arsenic (As) and Cadmium (Cd), several chlorinated pesticides (DDT, Lindane, Heptachlor, Chlordane), several PCBs (Aroclor), and Phthalates (diethyl phthalate).

Camp Lejeune was also contaminated with PFAS from decades of spraying the fire suppressant Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF). AFFF contains Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances, PFAS, a large family of human-made chemicals. PFAS on military bases winds its way into groundwater and contaminates aquifers. Camp Lejeune is on the EPA’s list of US military bases where contamination of PFAS far exceeded acceptable levels.

So, what do all these toxins have in common? They are all classified as Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) based on human epidemiologic studies. And just like their name implies, they disrupt the human endocrine system which regulates nearly every human biological process, including growth and development, metabolism, mood, and reproduction. It uses hormones to send messages throughout the body, controlling functions from stress response and sexual development to heart rate and blood sugar. And blood sugar, of course, leads us naturally to the question of Type-2 Diabetes.

With that said, it should be noted that this article focuses on Type-2 Diabetes, but EDCs impact many functions in the human body, including female and male reproductive function, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid dysfunction and cancer, insulin metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular disease (to name a few).

Type-2 Diabetes linked to EDCs

Classical risk factors alone cannot explain the current rising prevalence of Type-2 Diabetes in industrialized nations. Modern industrial life, unfortunately, exposes all of us to ever-increasing amounts of toxins, many of which are Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals not only interfere directly with the function of the Pancreas - the endocrine gland which makes insulin, but they also interfere with how all cells metabolize insulin.

Multiple epidemiological studies and meta-analyses over the last several years confirm and quantify a notably higher risk of Type-2 Diabetes from exposure to EDCs, independent of other factors. Specifically, PFAS confers an 80% higher relative risk, Cadmium confers a 47% higher relative risk, exposure to Arsenic confers a 37-58% higher relative risk, exposure to PCBs confers 259% higher relative risk, exposure to Chlorinated Pesticides confers a 130% higher relative risk, and exposure to Phthalates confers a 27-211% higher relative risk. Note that all these relative risks are independent of each other, meaning they add up!

Type-2 Diabetes is preceded by a period of Insulin Resistance, wherein cells become less responsive to insulin, which precedes the clinical diagnosis of Type-2 Diabetes by as much as 10-15 years. Furthermore, many EDCs have a very long half-life in humans; for example, the half-life is around 3-5 years for PFAS, 10-15 years for PCBs, 5 years for Chlorinated Pesticides, and 16 years for Cadmium. Thus, one can expect long latencies of 20 years or longer between exposures and the eventual clinical diagnosis of Type-2 Diabetes.

Competing Personal Risk Factors for Type-2 Diabetes

Naturally, one must consider risk from personal factors vs. risk from Camp Lejeune exposure to EDCs. There are several well-established personal factors that confer a high risk for Type-2 Diabetes. Having a first-degree family history of Type-2 Diabetes confers a 144% higher relative risk, obesity confers a 72% higher relative risk, being Black confers a 68% higher relative risk, and smoking confers a 28% higher relative risk.

For those Veterans with none or just a few personal risk factors, their Type-2 Diabetes can fairly be considered to have been at least as likely as not caused by exposure to EDCs at Camp Lejeune.

In Summary

The long-term consequences of living with Type-2 Diabetes include significant risk for additional diseases, including but not limited to heart disease, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy, kidney disease, cataracts, glaucoma, sleep apnea, and many more.

For Veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune and whose exposure has been conceded by the VA, having Type-2 Diabetes could well have been the result of their exposure to Endocrine

Disrupting Chemicals (EDC’s). Veteran Advocates should assess the unique personal risk factors of the Veteran and consider service connection. MedConnectVA can also assist by performing a medical pre-screening of your case without cost or obligation.