US Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans face higher rates of rare nerve disease ALS than other vets, study finds
The study pointed to possible service-related exposures as potential ALS links but did not identify them.
A new study published in the journal Neurology has found that U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans face higher rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, compared to Army veterans. The study analyzed records for nearly 10 million veterans receiving Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare between 2000 and 2024, and found that ALS rates were 15% to 29% higher among veterans from these three branches.
The research also revealed that male officers had a 64% higher ALS rate than enlisted veterans, though the study did not determine if specific military jobs or exposures were responsible for the differences. While ALS is a rare and often fatal degenerative disease, military service has been known to increase the risk of developing ALS.
The study's authors cautioned that even though the increases in ALS risk associated with branch and rank represent modest increases in overall risk, the findings highlight the need for further investigation into possible service-related exposures.
Brief written by urgent.news from Business Insider's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
