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Exposure to environmental toxins and the risk of sporadic motor neuron disease: an expanded A ustralian case–control study
Author(s) -
Pamphlett R.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2012.03769.x
Subject(s) - medicine , amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , odds ratio , confidence interval , disease , case control study , occupational exposure , toxicology , environmental health , biology
Background and purpose It remains unclear what role environmental toxins play in sporadic motor neuron disease ( SMND ) and its most common subtype, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( SALS ). Most previous studies of this issue have contained only small numbers of SMND cases. We sought to re‐examine possible associations between toxins and SMND in a large A ustralian case–control study. Methods Questionnaire data were available from 787 patients with SMND (614 with SALS ) and 778 non‐related controls. Individuals were asked whether they had been exposed to metals or chemicals/solvents at work or to herbicides/pesticides. Chi‐square tests with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for responses, and significance levels were corrected for multiple testing. Results Men were more likely to acquire SALS if they worked with metals ( OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.24–3.07) or chemicals/solvents ( OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.46–2.61) or if they had been exposed to herbicides or pesticides ( OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.30–2.39). Women who had worked with chemicals or solvents also appeared to be at increased risk of acquiring SALS ( OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.22–2.40). Conclusions These results support previous reports that exposures to metals or chemicals are associated with SMND . A suggested protocol for future multinational studies of environmental toxins and SMND is presented.