US Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans face higher rates of rare nerve disease ALS than other vets, study finds
Business Insider · 2026-08-19
A new study published in the journal *Neurology* last month reveals that US Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans exhibit higher rates of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) compared to veterans from other branches. Officers within the military face a 64% elevated risk of developing ALS compared with their enlisted counterparts. While military service is a known risk factor for ALS, the specific factors contributing to these branch and rank differences remain unclear.
Marc Weisskopf, an environmental epidemiologist at Harvard and study author, noted that officers and enlisted personnel may encounter different work conditions, with officers potentially facing more psychosocial stress and pilots experiencing high G-forces, noise, and vibration, while enlisted personnel might engage in more extreme physical exercise or handle fuels and solvents. Though ALS is rare, the study found these differences were more pronounced among men under age 61 than those over 75. Among women, female officers faced a 72% higher risk compared to enlisted women. The researchers recommend future studies to identify the specific military environments and exposures increasing ALS risk.
*The full article also explores previous research on veterans' ALS risk factors like lead and pesticides, and the overall rarity of the disease.*