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Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Horner, RD; Kamins, KG; Feussner, JR; Grambow, SC; Hoff-Lindquist, J; Harati, Y; Mitsumoto, H; Pascuzzi, R; Spencer, PS; Tim, R; Howard, D ...
Published in: Neurology
September 23, 2003

BACKGROUND: In response to Gulf War veterans' concerns of high rates of ALS, this investigation sought to determine if Gulf War veterans have an elevated rate of ALS. METHODS: A nationwide epidemiologic case ascertainment study design was used to ascertain all occurrences of ALS for the 10-year period since August 1990 among active duty military and mobilized Reserves, including National Guard, who served during the Gulf War (August 2, 1990, through July 31, 1991). The diagnosis of ALS was confirmed by medical record review. Risk was assessed by the age-adjusted, average, annual 10-year cumulative incidence rate. RESULTS: Among approximately 2.5 million eligible military personnel, 107 confirmed cases of ALS were identified for an overall occurrence of 0.43 per 100,000 persons per year. A significant elevated risk of ALS occurred among all deployed personnel (RR = 1.92; 95% CL = 1.29, 2.84), deployed active duty military (RR = 2.15, 95% CL = 1.38, 3.36), deployed Air Force (RR = 2.68, 95% CL = 1.24, 5.78), and deployed Army (RR = 2.04; 95% CL = 1.10, 3.77) personnel. Elevated, but nonsignificant, risks were observed for deployed Reserves and National Guard (RR = 2.50; 95% CL = 0.88, 7.07), deployed Navy (RR = 1.48, 95% CL = 0.62, 3.57), and deployed Marine Corps (RR = 1.13; 95% CL = 0.27, 4.79) personnel. Overall, the attributable risk associated with deployment was 18% (95% CL = 4.9%, 29.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Military personnel who were deployed to the Gulf Region during the Gulf War period experienced a greater post-war risk of ALS than those who were not deployed to the Gulf.

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Published In

Neurology

DOI

EISSN

1526-632X

Publication Date

September 23, 2003

Volume

61

Issue

6

Start / End Page

742 / 749

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Warfare
  • Veterans
  • Risk
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Persian Gulf Syndrome
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Indian Ocean
  • Incidence
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Horner, R. D., Kamins, K. G., Feussner, J. R., Grambow, S. C., Hoff-Lindquist, J., Harati, Y., … Kasarskis, E. J. (2003). Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans. Neurology, 61(6), 742–749. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000069922.32557.ca
Horner, R. D., K. G. Kamins, J. R. Feussner, S. C. Grambow, J. Hoff-Lindquist, Y. Harati, H. Mitsumoto, et al. “Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans.Neurology 61, no. 6 (September 23, 2003): 742–49. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000069922.32557.ca.
Horner RD, Kamins KG, Feussner JR, Grambow SC, Hoff-Lindquist J, Harati Y, et al. Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans. Neurology. 2003 Sep 23;61(6):742–9.
Horner, R. D., et al. “Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans.Neurology, vol. 61, no. 6, Sept. 2003, pp. 742–49. Pubmed, doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000069922.32557.ca.
Horner RD, Kamins KG, Feussner JR, Grambow SC, Hoff-Lindquist J, Harati Y, Mitsumoto H, Pascuzzi R, Spencer PS, Tim R, Howard D, Smith TC, Ryan MAK, Coffman CJ, Kasarskis EJ. Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans. Neurology. 2003 Sep 23;61(6):742–749.

Published In

Neurology

DOI

EISSN

1526-632X

Publication Date

September 23, 2003

Volume

61

Issue

6

Start / End Page

742 / 749

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Warfare
  • Veterans
  • Risk
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Persian Gulf Syndrome
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Indian Ocean
  • Incidence