Pre-disease pollutant biomarkers were linked to shorter ALS survival in a Danish cohort
Original source
Associations between Pre-Disease Biomarkers of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Survival in the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Study Cohort. (opens in a new tab)Compass summarised this from the study's abstract.
Study details
- Studied in
- Human
Population inferred from the title and abstract by Compass.
Higher pre-disease blood levels of some persistent organic pollutants were associated with shorter survival after amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis. In 166 people with ALS, higher combined levels of hexachlorobenzene and chlordane compounds were linked to a 1.4-fold higher risk of death and a predicted median survival that was 12 months shorter.
Why this matters
The findings identify pollutant exposure as a possible factor associated with ALS survival. They come from an observational study and do not show that these chemicals cause ALS or that changing exposure would extend survival, so they do not currently change treatment.
Limitations and context
This was a prospective analysis of 166 ALS cases from one Danish cohort. It used blood samples collected before disease and registry-based case identification, so the results show associations rather than causation. The findings need confirmation in other populations and studies before their clinical importance is clear.