People who served in the military have a 50 percent increased risk of developing an incurable neurodegenerative illness called Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a new study says.
This disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a progressive disease that attacks the central nervous system, leading to the death of upper and lower motor neurons. These neurons are responsible for easy daily activities like gripping, walking, speaking, swallowing and even breathing.
In 2003, a similar study was conducted and linked military service with the development of MND. In fact, they found out that there is an increased risk of developing the disease for military veterans who served in the Gulf.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow wanted to analyze data from Scottish military veterans. They analyzed data from 57,000 veterans who were born between 1945 and 1985 and had vast experience in the military service for a period of 50 years.
Their rates of hospitalization and death from MND were recorded and compared to the data from 173,000 civilians. When they compared the data incurred from the Scottish Veterans Health Study, they discovered that veterans were twice as much likely to develop the debilitating disease than non-veterans.
However, they were not able to determine if the link was affected by their deployment or length of service. One of the reasons cited by the researchers is the higher rates of smoking in the military may explain the increased risk.
"This is an important study which has confirmed an increased risk in military personnel," Lead researcher Dr. Beverly Bergman said. "We also showed that there was a higher risk in everyone who had experienced an injury, but the risk was greater in people who had served in the armed forces."
They assured military personnel that the disease is still rare and though they might have an increased risk, they should not be worried. In fact, according to the MND Association, approximately two people in every 100,000 are estimated to get affected every year.
Around 6,400 people in the United States are diagnosed with MND or ALS each year. Fifty percent of patients who were diagnosed live at least two years after diagnosis, 20 percent live five years or more and only 10 percent live for more than 10 years.
MND has still no cure but researches are being done to determine the exact cause of the disease. Even though it causes wasting and weakness of muscles due to motor neuron death, its symptoms can be managed to help patients achieve the best possible quality of life.
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