SynthesisEuropean journal of epidemiology2014
Epidemiological evidence that physical activity is not a risk factor for ALS.
Synthesis in European journal of epidemiology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical activity as risk factor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Meta-analytic evaluation of the association between head injury and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.European journal of epidemiology · 2017Pooled it
- Pathophysiology, Clinical Heterogeneity, and Therapeutic Advances in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Comprehensive Review of Molecular Mechanisms, Diagnostic Challenges, and Multidisciplinary Management Strategies.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Racial and ethnic disparities in ALS: a longitudinal electronic health records study.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2025Article
- Update on recent advances in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Journal of neurology · 2024Review
- Review
- Potential Preventive Strategies for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2020Review
- Lifetime sport practice and brain metabolism in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2020Article
- Intentions of Canadian health professionals towards recommending exercise for people living with ALS.BMC neurology · 2019Article
- Influence of Environment and Lifestyle on Incidence and Progress of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in A German ALS Population.Aging and disease · 2019Article
- Risk factors in Swedish young men for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in adulthood.Journal of neurology · 2018Article
- Adipokines, C-reactive protein and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - results from a population- based ALS registry in Germany.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Prevalence of potential sports-associated risk factors in Swiss amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.Brain and behavior · 2017Article
- Participation in Physical Activity and Risk for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Mortality Among Postmenopausal Women.JAMA neurology · 2016Article
- Potential Environmental Factors in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Neurologic clinics · 2015Review
- The Rotterdam Study: 2016 objectives and design update.European journal of epidemiology · 2015Article
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: A paradigm in search of evidence?Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology · 2015Article
- Searching for a link between the L-BMAA neurotoxin and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a study protocol of the French BMAALS programme.BMJ open · 2014Article
- Long-term physical activity: an exogenous risk factor for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degenerationArticle
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and environmental factors.Functional neurologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To elucidate whether physical activity (PA) and sport increase the risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a literature review of epidemiological studies was conducted according to the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. Six databases (Pubmed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, IngentaConnect, Refdoc and the Cochrane database) were searched to April 2014. Experts were asked to identify studies in press. Studies of interest were examined for their level of evidence and synthetized using Armon's classification for exogenous risk factors for ALS. Of 37 epidemiological works included in the review, two (5.5%) provided class I evidence, and five (13.5%) class II. Others offered evidence of class III (n = 8, 21.6%), IV (n = 16, 43.2%) and V (n = 6, 16.2%). Results were stratified according to type of exposure: (1) PA related to sport and work (n = 14), (2) soccer and American football (n = 9), (3) occupation (n = 12), (4) proxies of PA (n = 2). Among articles which considered "PA related to sport and work", two class I studies and one class II study concluded that PA is not a risk factor for ALS. This evidence establishes (level A) that PA is not a risk factor for ALS. As regards "occupational related activity" a level of evidence of U was obtained (it is unknown whether the professional category "physical worker" is a risk factor for ALS). Football/soccer may be considered as a possible risk factor for ALS (level C) and there is a need for further research taking into account the numerous confounding factors that may arise in this field.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.