Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Risk and Prognosis of Motor Neuron Disease

Key points

Investigating the association between air pollution and motor neuron disease (MND) development.
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Affiliates

Jing Wu, PhD1; Andrei Pyko, PhD1,2; Charilaos Chourpiliadis, MD1; Yihan Hu, PhD1; Can Hou, PhD1,3,4; Susanna Brauner, MD, PhD5,6,7; Fredrik Piehl, MD, PhD5,6,7; Petter Ljungman, MD, PhD1,8; Caroline Ingre, MD, PhD5,7; Fang Fang, MD, PhD1

  1. Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  2. Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Stockholm Region, Stockholm, Sweden
  3. Mental Health Center and West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
  4. Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
  5. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  6. Neuroimmunology Unit, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  7. Department of Neurology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
  8. Department of Cardiology, Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

Journal

JAMA Neurology

Summary

Researchers examined whether long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with the risk of developing motor neuron disease (MND), including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and with disease progression after diagnosis. The study used Swedish national health register data and included 1,463 individuals newly diagnosed with MND and matched population and sibling controls. Researchers estimated residential exposure to several air pollutants—including fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅, PM₂.₅–10, and PM₁₀) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)—for up to 10 years before diagnosis. Higher levels of air pollution were associated with a greater risk of developing MND. Among people diagnosed with MND, higher pollution exposure was also associated with faster functional decline, increased respiratory impairment, higher mortality, and greater likelihood of requiring invasive ventilation. These associations were observed even at relatively low pollution levels. Because this study was observational, it cannot determine whether air pollution causes MND, however, the findings suggest that long-term exposure to air pollution may be associated with both the development and progression of MND.

Link to Paper

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Content Source:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry