Association of Military Branch and Rank With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Incidence Among United States Veterans.
Male military officers are associated with a higher rate of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Association of Military Branch and Rank With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Incidence Among United States Veterans.
Military service is one of the most consistent risk factors for the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), but little is known about what aspects of military service matter.
We aimed to ascertain the association of United States (United States) military branch and rank with incident amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
We conducted a longitudinal cohort study including all veterans with a Veterans Health Administration encounter from January 1, 2000, through October 1, 2024, and more than 2 years of follow-up.
male officers had a higher rate of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis than enlisted personnel
The analytic sample comprised 9,157,938 men (13,935 incident amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases, mean age = 56.9 years) and 784,941 women (484 cases, mean age = 42.4 at start of follow up).
Among men, compared with service in the Army, service in the Air Force (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.29, 95% CI 1.23-1.35), Navy (HR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.10-1.20), and Coast Guard (HR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.06-1.50) was associated with higher rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and service in the Marines a lower rate (HR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.68-0.88).
Officers and those serving in the Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard may incur exposure to military environments that increase risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.