Search resultsSmoking, alcohol consumption, and the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A population-based study
Title
Smoking, alcohol consumption, and the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A population-based study
Publication type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2012
Authors
Journal
American Journal of Epidemiology
Volume
176
Issue
3
Pagination
233 - 239
Date published
2012
ISBN
00029262 (ISSN)
Keywords
Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, alcohol, alcohol consumption, Alcohol Drinking, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, article, case control study, Case-Control Studies, cohort analysis, controlled study, disease control, disease prevalence, Female, human, Humans, incidence, lifestyle, major clinical study, male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Netherlands, onset age, pathogenesis, population research, prevalence, Prognosis, Proportional Hazards Models, prospective study, questionnaire, questionnaire survey, Questionnaires, risk factor, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, smoking, smoking cessation, Survival Analysis, Young Adult
Abstract
Smoking has been posited as a possible risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but large population-based studies of patients with incident disease are still needed. The authors performed a population-based case-control study in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2009, including 494 patients with incident ALS and 1,599 controls. To prove the relevance of population-based incidence cohorts in case-control studies, the authors compared results with those from cohorts including patients with prevalent ALS and referral patients. Subjects were sent a questionnaire. Multivariate analyses showed an increased risk of ALS among current smokers (odds ratio = 1.38, 95 confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.88) in the incident patient group only. Cox regression models showed that current smoking was also independently associated with shorter survival (hazard ratio = 1.51, 95 CI: 1.07, 2.15), explaining the lack of association in the prevalent and referral patient groups. Current alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced risk of ALS (incident patient group: odds ratio = 0.52, 95 CI: 0.40, 0.75). These findings indicate that current smoking is associated with an increased risk of ALS, as well as a worse prognosis, and alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of ALS, further corroborating the role of lifestyle factors in the pathogenesis of ALS. The importance of population-based incident patient cohorts in identifying risk factors is highlighted by this study.