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Health See other Health Articles Title: Formaldehyde Exposure Linked to ALS Medscape... Men with a high probability of exposure to formaldehyde, such as funeral directors, have an almost 3-fold greater rate of death related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than those with no exposure to the chemical, new research shows. "The study is important because, unfortunately, we know almost nothing about what causes ALS, which is 100% fatal within a very short time period," study author Andrea Roberts, research associate, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News. Although some genes have been implicated in ALS, they are responsible for a very small number of cases, and no environmental factors have clearly been shown to cause the disease, said Dr Roberts. "So any evidence that we can get just to direct us as to what might possibly be a cause is helpful." The study is published online July 13 in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Andrea Roberts Funeral Directors The investigators used data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS), a probability sample of the US civilian noninstitutionalized population, with occupational data collected prospectively. They used a formaldehyde exposure matrix and calculated the intensity (frequency and level of exposure) and probability (likelihood of any exposure) for each occupation and industry. They coded these exposures as none, low, medium, or high. NLMS records were matched to the National Death Index. ALS deaths were defined according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th and 10th Revisions, as those with ALS as the underlying or contributing cause of death. The study sample included 794,541 men and 674,694 women aged 25 years and older when surveyed. Researchers calculated hazard ratios (HRs) separately for each probability and intensity level, using those with no exposure to formaldehyde as the reference group. They did this for both men and women. They also calculated HRs for each intensity level using the same reference group and restricting exposed respondents to those with a high probability of exposure. In the sample, 99 women and 493 men had jobs with high-probability and high-intensity formaldehyde exposure. All the men and all but 1 of the women were funeral directors. After adjustment for race/ethnicity, education, and household income, the HR for ALS mortality among those with a high probability of formaldehyde exposure vs no exposure was 2.98 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78 - 11.30). The study did not find a link between formaldehyde exposure and ALS in women. The sample of exposed women, said the authors, may have been too small to detect a possible connection to ALS. According to Dr Roberts, female funeral directors in the United States are more likely than their male counterparts to interact with bereaved clients and less likely to perform embalming, where exposure to formaldehyde occurs. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
So grossly unfair! I know the top feminists will soon weigh in on how men deserve a better balance of time in the interacting part and thus provide women an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY to get ALS.
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