Oops! Another choice of occupation may result in a higher rate of an illness - this time a higher rate of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in male veterans of certain branches of the military - the Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard. But not the Army or Marines.
ALS is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. There is progressive loss of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing.
The ALS study, led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, included nearly 9.2 million male veterans who received care through the VHA between 2000 and 2024. Air Force veterans had a 29% higher rate of ALS, Coast Guard veterans a 26% higher rate, and Navy veterans a 15% higher rate, when compared to Army veterans. Officers had a 64% higher rate than enlisted personnel.
The researchers also said that since ALS is rare and women make up a smaller share of the military population (just 18%) it is hard to assess what is going on with women. But among the women who were included, female officers faced a 72% higher risk compared with enlisted women
The big question is - what environmental exposures led to higher rates of ALS? Still unknown at this time. Some known risk factors are lead, pesticides, and other toxins.
From Harvard T.H. Chan school of Public Health: In veterans, ALS risk linked with military branch, rank
Male veterans of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard had higher rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal nervous system disease, compared to veterans of the Army, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The study was published July 29 in Neurology. Andrea Roberts, principal research scientist in the Department of Environmental Health, was corresponding author and Marc Weisskopf, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology, was senior author.
In a press release from the American Academy of Neurology, Weisskopf shared: “Military service is a known risk factor for the development of ALS, but little is known about what factors may contribute to that risk.” To start to fill this gap, the researchers used health records from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to assess ALS diagnoses across military branch, rank, and length of service. The study included nearly 9.2 million male veterans who received care through the VHA between 2000 and 2024.
Among these veterans, 13,935 developed ALS. Controlling for variables such as age, race, and ethnicity, the researchers found that, compared to Army veterans, Air Force veterans had a 29% higher rate of ALS; Coast Guard veterans, a 26% higher rate; and Navy veterans, a 15% higher rate. Marine veterans, meanwhile, had a 22% lower rate. They also found that officers had a 64% higher rate of ALS than enlisted personnel, and that across branches and ranks, longer service was associated with lower rates of ALS—a counterintuitive finding that may be explained by unique health risks associated with short-duration military occupations, among other potential reasons.
“Our findings suggest that officers and those serving in the Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard may have been exposed to military environments that increase risk of ALS,” Weisskopf said. “Future research should aim to identify these exposures.”
He added, “It is also important to note that ALS is rare and the overall risk remains small, so even statistically significant increases associated with branch and rank represent only modest increases in risk among military personnel.”
The study also included female veterans, but the researchers could not fully evaluate associations with ALS in this population because there are so fewer women in the military and because ALS is rare.