Controlling for variables such as age, race, and ethnicity, the researchers found that, compared to Army veterans, Air Force veterans had a 29% higher rate of ALS; Coast Guard veterans, a 26% higher rate; and Navy veterans, a 15% higher rate. Marine veterans, meanwhile, had a 22% lower rate. They also found that officers had a 64% higher rate of ALS than enlisted personnel, and that across branches and ranks, longer service was associated with lower rates of ALS—a counterintuitive finding that may be explained by unique health risks associated with short-duration military occupations, among other potential reasons.
Interesting.
That’s really weird. The enlisted Marines are treated the worst of all. Why in the world would Marines and officers have lower rates of ALS?
“Our findings suggest that officers and those serving in the Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard may have been exposed to military environments that increase risk of ALS,” Weisskopf said. “Future research should aim to identify these exposures.”
Hmmm. JP-8, maybe?
Should be easy enough to trace specialties that interacted with aviation fuels. From maintenance to fuelers and the rest.
Should be easy to corroborate with civilian fuelers and maintainers as well.
