Exposure to air pollution is associated with Higher Odds of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Belgium: a Case-Control Study
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- Background Recent research suggests that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) might be explained by a complex interaction between environmental and genetic risk factors. We hypothesized that exposure to airborne pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NOx, NO2, SO2, O3) could have an impact on ALS. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of this exposure on the ALS survival. Objectives The major objective of this study is to provide insight into the effects of air pollution on ALS. Methods We performed post-hoc matching of 194 cases and 598 controls with a 1:3 ratio. We estimated PM10, PM2.5, NOx, NO2, SO2, and O3 mean annual concentrations at the residential addresses of cases and controls. To assess the link between environmental exposure and disease we used a conditional logistic model that was adjusted for socio-economic status. Results We observed that higher odds of ALS were associated with exposure to NOx>10 μg/m³ (OR=1.400, 95%CI: 1.012, 11.660), PM10 >25 μg/m³ (OR=1.409, 95%CI: 0.859, 2.310), O3>40 μg/m³ (OR=3.027, 95%CI: 2.031, 4.512) and NO2>20 μg/m³ (OR=1.064, 95%CI: 0.729, 1.551). Interestingly, air pollutant concentrations were higher among ALS patients compared to controls. Finally, we did not observe a significant difference in exposure concentrations between patients who survived less than two years upon diagnosis and those who lived longer (pvalues > 0.05). Discussion This case-control study provides further evidence that exposure to air pollution is associated with higher odds of ALS. We add evidence to the effects of pollution on neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, we believe that regulatory interventions aiming to decrease air pollutants emissions would help the primary prevention of sporadic ALS.