Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29016608›Full record

ArticlePloS one2017

Military service, deployments, and exposures in relation to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis survival.

John D Beard, Lawrence S Engel, David B Richardson, Marilie D Gammon, Coleen Baird, David M Umbach, Kelli D Allen, Catherine L Stanwyck, Jean Keller, Dale P Sandler and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readHistorical Article
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Epidemiology of Sarcoidosis in U.S. Veterans from 2003 to 2019.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2023
    Article
  2. A roadmap to ALS prevention: strategies and priorities.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2023
    Article
  3. Occupational lead exposure and survival with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration · 2023
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

John D BeardDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
Lawrence S EngelDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
David B RichardsonDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
Marilie D GammonDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
Coleen BairdEnvironmental Medicine Program, US Army Public Health Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, United States of America.
David M UmbachBiostatistics and Computational Biology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America.
Kelli D AllenDurham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
Catherine L StanwyckDurham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
Jean KellerWestat, Inc., Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
Dale P SandlerEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America.
Silke SchmidtDepartment of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
Freya KamelEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · USDurham VA Medical Center · USDuke Medical Center · USUnited States Army Medical Command · USWestat (United States) · US

Funding

UNC-CH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH &SUSCEPTIBILITYP30ES010126 · NIEHS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Melissa A. Troester · 2001 to 2026
$36.3M
Biostatstics for Research in Environmental HealthT32ES007018 · NIEHS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Stephanie Engel, Rebecca Fry · 1985 to 2026
$31.3M
Genetic Epidemiology of ALS in VeteransR01ES013244 · NIEHS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI SCHMIDT, SILKE A · 2004 to 2008
$2.3M
Statistical Methods In Human Development/clinical StudiesZIAES049004 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI UMBACH, DAVID M · 2009 to 2025
$1.8M
Environmental Exposures And Risk For Cancer and Chronic Diseases In AdultsZIAES049028 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI SANDLER, DALE P · 2009 to 2024
$1.6M
Statistical techniques applied to environmental health sciencesZIAES103126 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI UMBACH, DAVID M · 2012 to 2025
$1.0M
LEAD AND OTHER NEUROTOXINS AS RISK FACTORS FOR AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSISZ01ES049005 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI SANDLER, DALE P · 1992 to 2008
$158k
Intramural NIH HHS Z01 ES049005NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES010126NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES013244NIEHS NIH HHS T32 ES007018
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMilitary veterans may have higher rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mortality than non-veterans. Few studies, with sparse exposure information and mixed results, have studied relationships between military-related factors and ALS survival. We evaluated associations between military-related factors and ALS survival among U.S. military veteran cases.

methodsWe followed 616 medical record-confirmed cases from enrollment (2005-2010) in the Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis study until death or July 25, 2013, whichever came first. We ascertained vital status information from several sources within the Department of Veterans Affairs. We obtained information regarding military service, deployments, and 39 related exposures via standardized telephone interviews. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals. We adjusted for potential confounding and missing covariate data biases via inverse probability weights. We also used inverse probability weights to adjust for potential selection bias among a case group that included a disproportionate number of long-term survivors at enrollment.

resultsWe observed 446 deaths during 24,267 person-months of follow-up (median follow-up: 28 months). Survival was shorter for cases who served before 1950, were deployed to World War II, or mixed and applied burning agents, with HRs between 1.58 and 2.57. Longer survival was associated with exposure to: paint, solvents, or petrochemical substances; local food not provided by the Armed Forces; or burning agents or Agent Orange in the field with HRs between 0.56 and 0.73.

conclusionsAlthough most military-related factors were not associated with survival, associations we observed with shorter survival are potentially important because of the large number of military veterans.

Indexed as

Military PersonnelVeterans2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic AcidAdultAgedAgent OrangeAmyotrophic Lateral SclerosisArmed ConflictsChemical Warfare AgentsEnvironmental ExposureFemaleHistory, 20th CenturyHistory, 21st CenturyHumansMale2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic AcidAgent OrangeChemical Warfare AgentsPolychlorinated Dibenzodioxins

Identifiers

PMID29016608
PMCPMC5634564
OpenAlexW2762834462

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC0
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Registered trials

None linked

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.