Military service, deployments, and exposures in relation to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis etiology and survival

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beard JD ; Kamel F ; Beard JD ; Kamel F
• Description:
  Rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been reported to be higher among US military veterans, who currently number more than 21 million, but the causal factor(s) has not been identified. We conducted a review to examine the weight of evidence for associations between military service, deployments, and exposures and ALS etiology and survival. Thirty articles or abstracts published through 2013 were reviewed. Although the current evidence suggests a positive association with ALS etiology, it is too limited to draw firm conclusions regarding associations between military service and ALS etiology or survival. Some evidence suggests that deployment to the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War may be associated with ALS etiology, but there is currently no strong evidence that any particular military exposure is associated with ALS etiology. Future studies should address the limitations of previous ones, such as reliance on mortality as a surrogate for incidence, a dearth of survival analyses, lack of clinical data, low statistical power, and limited exposure assessment. The Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (GENEVA) Study is one such study, but additional research is needed to determine whether military-related factors are associated with ALS and to assess potential prevention strategies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Men Morbidity Mortality Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Health Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Etiology Exposure-levels Gulf War Humans Incidence Military-personnel Military Personnel Morbidity-rates Mortality Mortality-rates Motor Neuron Disease Neuromotor-disorders Neuromotor-function Neuromotor-system Neuromotor-system-disorders Neuromuscular-function Neuromuscular-system Neuromuscular-system-disorders Occupational Exposure Veterans

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• ISSN:
  0193-936X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  55-70
• Volume:
  37
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047019
• Citation:
  Epidemiol Rev 2015 Feb; 37(1):55-70
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Freya Kamel, Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, P.O. Box 12233, Mail Drop A3-05, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
• Email:
  kamel@niehs.nih.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Epidemiologic Reviews
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4291c9cca810f7931f37dd0e3cf7f395f49ef3ea27d2a0847baa41df01d6358f43258ba557b869d644e1ccf1c7ae9c424d1205652a9619bf25964ba4316df3b2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202254/cdc_202254_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 316.15 KB ]