Dataset Information

Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: the GENEVA study. Rationale, study design and demographic characteristics.

ABSTRACT: Recent reports of a potentially increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for veterans deployed to the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War prompted the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a National Registry of Veterans with ALS, charged with the goal of enrolling all US veterans with a neurologist-confirmed diagnosis of ALS. The Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with ALS study (GENEVA) is a case-control study presently enrolling cases from the Department of Veterans Affairs registry and a representative sample of veteran controls to evaluate the joint contributions of genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures to the risk of sporadic ALS. The GENEVA study design, recruitment strategies, methods of collecting DNA samples and environmental risk factor information are described here, along with a summary of demographic characteristics of the participants (537 cases, 292 controls) enrolled to date.

SUBMITTER: Schmidt S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2645711 | biostudies-literature | 2008

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: the GENEVA study. Rationale, study design and demographic characteristics.

Schmidt Silke S Allen Kelli D KD Loiacono Valerie T VT Norman Barbara B Stanwyck Catherine L CL Nord Kristina M KM Williams Christina D CD Kasarskis Edward J EJ Kamel Freya F McGuire Valerie V Nelson Lorene M LM Oddone Eugene Z EZ

Neuroepidemiology 20080418 3

Recent reports of a potentially increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for veterans deployed to the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War prompted the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a National Registry of Veterans with ALS, charged with the goal of enrolling all US veterans with a neurologist-confirmed diagnosis of ALS. The Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with ALS study (GENEVA) is a case-control study presently enrolling cases from the Department of Veterans Affai ...[more]

PMID: 18421219

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Project description:ImportancePersistent environmental pollutants may represent a modifiable risk factor involved in the gene-time-environment hypothesis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).ObjectiveTo evaluate the association of occupational exposures and environmental toxins on the odds of developing ALS in Michigan.Design, setting, and participantsCase-control study conducted between 2011 and 2014 at a tertiary referral center for ALS. Cases were patients diagnosed as having definitive, probable, probable with laboratory support, or possible ALS by revised El Escorial criteria; controls were excluded if they were diagnosed as having ALS or another neurodegenerative condition or if they had a family history of ALS in a first- or second-degree blood relative. Participants completed a survey assessing occupational and residential exposures. Blood concentrations of 122 persistent environmental pollutants, including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and brominated flame retardants (BFRs), were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Multivariable models with self-reported occupational exposures in various exposure time windows and environmental toxin blood concentrations were separately fit by logistic regression models. Concordance between the survey data and pollutant measurements was assessed using the nonparametric Kendall τ correlation coefficient.Main outcomes and measuresOccupational and residential exposures to environmental toxins, and blood concentrations of 122 persistent environmental pollutants, including OCPs, PCBs, and BFRs.ResultsParticipants included 156 cases (mean [SD] age, 60.5 [11.1] years; 61.5% male) and 128 controls (mean [SD] age, 60.4 [9.4] years; 57.8% male); among them, 101 cases and 110 controls had complete demographic and pollutant data. Survey data revealed that reported pesticide exposure in the cumulative exposure windows was significantly associated with ALS (odds ratio [OR] = 5.09; 95% CI, 1.85-13.99; P = .002). Military service was also associated with ALS in 2 time windows (exposure ever happened in entire occupational history: OR = 2.31; 95% CI, 1.02-5.25; P = .046; exposure ever happened 10-30 years ago: OR = 2.18; 95% CI, 1.01-4.73; P = .049). A multivariable model of measured persistent environmental pollutants in the blood, representing cumulative occupational and residential exposure, showed increased odds of ALS for 2 OCPs (pentachlorobenzene: OR = 2.21; 95% CI, 1.06-4.60; P = .04; and cis-chlordane: OR = 5.74; 95% CI, 1.80-18.20; P = .005), 2 PCBs (PCB 175: OR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.20-2.72; P = .005; and PCB 202: OR = 2.11; 95% CI, 1.36-3.27; P = .001), and 1 BFR (polybrominated diphenyl ether 47: OR = 2.69; 95% CI, 1.49-4.85; P = .001). There was modest concordance between survey data and the measurements of persistent environmental pollutants in blood; significant Kendall τ correlation coefficients ranged from -0.18 (Dacthal and "use pesticides to treat home or yard") to 0.24 (trans-nonachlor and "store lawn care products in garage").Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, persistent environmental pollutants measured in blood were significantly associated with ALS and may represent modifiable ALS disease risk factors.

Dataset Information

Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: the GENEVA study. Rationale, study design and demographic characteristics.

Publications

Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: the GENEVA study. Rationale, study design and demographic characteristics.

Similar Datasets

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