Increased ALS risks come with many activities. However, a few of these recreational activities are viewed as more detrimental to males.
A recent Michigan-based, case-control study found that being involved in recreational activities might be associated with an increase in a person’s risk for developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or commonly referred to as ALS.
Above all, the activities linked to the increased risk included gardening, hunting, golfing, yard work, and woodworking.
ALS Risks Research
Research investigators from University of Michigan surveyed 400 people living with ALS. They also surveyed close to three hundred people without the condition to evaluate their non-work related activities and hobbies.
In effect, what they found was that golf was associated with three times greater risk for developing ALS among men.
Additionally, participation in gardening or yard work, as well as woodworking and hunting, was also linked with an increased risk for men.
Of note, females had no associations with ALS involving recreational activities. In addition, none of the hobbies were linked to early death from ALS, for either gender.
Research author Stephen Goutman, M.D., M.S., director of the Pranger ALS Clinic and associate director of the ALS Center of Excellence at University of Michigan, reports,
“We know that occupational risk factors, like working in manufacturing and trade industries, are linked to an increased risk for ALS, and this adds to a growing literature that recreational activities may also represent important and possibly modifiable risk factors for this disease.”
Dr, Goutman adds,
“It is surprising that the risk factors we identified appear to be specific to males. While these activities may also increase ALS risk in females, the number of females in our study was too small for us to come to that conclusion.”
The findings connect with the rising body of evidence suggesting that environmental exposures affect a person’s risk for getting and dying from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Researchers call this lifetime accumulation of exposures the ALS exposome.
Considered Risks
According to Dr. Goutman, hobbies like golfing and gardening, or yard work, may present a risk due to the use of pesticides. Moreover, a past study connected occupations in golf and garden maintenance to increased ALS risk.
Furthermore, wide-ranging studies of woodworking have lead researchers to believe that formaldehyde exposure during the hobby could be attributed to higher risk.
Senior author Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the ALS Center of Excellence at U-M and James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor at U-M, maintain,
“Our goal is to understand what occupations and hobbies increase ALS risk because identifying these activities provides the first step towards ALS prevention. For a disease like Alzheimer’s, we know that a list of factors — including smoking, obesity and high lipids — can increase risk by 40 percent. Our goal is to establish a similar list for ALS to create a roadmap to decrease risk. With apologies to Robert Frost, it is currently the ‘road not taken’, and we want to change that.”
Search for ALS Prevention and Treatment
In either case, future studies are underway to examine individuals who work in production and manufacturing. Also, jobs that involve the use of metals are on this list. These studies involve people with a family history of ALS.
Dr. Goutman suggests,
“Future studies should include these activities to pinpoint how they can be understood in the context of ALS prevention, diagnosis and treatment.”
Nonetheless, both doctors say it is too early for clinicians to recommend to stop doing any of these activities.
In conclusion, the results of this Michigan-based case-control study is titled, “Avocational exposure associations with ALS risk, survival, and phenotype: A.” It’s published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.
Photo provided by Kai C. Schwarzer CC BY-Kai C. Schwarzer-NC-ND 2.0 DEED
