Researchers reviewed about 9.9 million VA medical records (2000–2024) and identified 14,419 veterans with ALS, finding notable variation by military branch and rank. After adjusting for demographics, the Air Force (+29%), Coast Guard (+26%) and Navy (+15%) had higher ALS rates than the Army, while Marines had a ~22% lower rate. Officers — particularly female officers — showed substantially higher rates than enlisted personnel. The study emphasizes ALS remains rare (<0.2% in the cohort) and that observed links do not prove causation.
Study Finds ALS Risk Varies By Military Branch And Rank — Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard See Higher Rates
Participants of the Walk to Defeat ALS kick off the event in Emerald Isle, N.C., Sept. 17. The event is a fundraiser to help those suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. (Cpl. Miranda Blackburn/Marine Corps)
A large new review of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical records found that rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) differ by military branch and rank. Researchers examined roughly 9.9 million veterans' records from 2000 through 2024 and identified 14,419 patients with an ALS diagnosis. The findings were published in the journal Neurology.
Using Army veterans as the reference group and adjusting for sex, race and ethnicity, investigators reported that veterans who served in the Air Force had a 29% higher ALS rate, former Coast Guard members had a 26% higher rate and Navy veterans had a 15% higher rate. By contrast, Marines had a rate about 22% lower than the Army.
Rank was also associated with differences: overall, officers had a 64% higher rate of ALS than enlisted personnel, while female officers had a 72% higher rate compared with enlisted women. Branch-related differences were most pronounced in men aged 61 and younger and became less evident among men older than 75.
"Our study looked at the rates of ALS among people in different branches of the U.S. military and found ALS rates varied considerably by branch and rank, with larger differences among younger veterans," said Marc Weisskopf of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
ALS is an uncommon neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons and is typically fatal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 5,000 new ALS diagnoses occur annually in the United States. Two main forms are recognized: sporadic ALS (no known inherited cause) and familial ALS (linked to inherited genetic mutations).
Previous research indicates veterans receive an ALS diagnosis at nearly twice the rate of civilians, and the VA often presumes ALS can be service-connected because of the higher occurrence in veterans. Investigators have hypothesized that exposures during service — including burn pits, jet fuel and exhaust, heavy metals, dioxins and other toxicants — might contribute, but this study is observational and cannot establish causation.
Despite the relative differences by branch and rank, the absolute risk for an individual veteran remains low: fewer than 0.2% of the 9.9 million records reviewed included an ALS diagnosis. The authors call for further research to identify specific exposures or circumstances that could explain the observed patterns.
Study details: Large VA records review covering 2000–2024; 14,419 ALS diagnoses; published in Neurology; authors include researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Help us improve.
