Exercise may lower ALS risk in men – but not women: study

Moderate or vigorous exercise may lower the risk of ALS, a fatal disease, for men but not for women, a new study finds.

The study, published Wednesday in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, followed 373,696 Norwegian people for about 27 years.

Participants recorded their physical activity, ranging from sedentary, moderate to vigorous. During the follow-up period, 504 people developed ALS.

Adjusting for lifestyle factors that may affect ALS risk, such as smoking and body weight, the researchers found that male participants who reported moderate levels of physical activity had a 29% lower risk of ALS while high levels of physical activity meant a 41% lower risk. .

The study only found an association between physical activity and ALS risk in male and not female participants.

The researchers also analyzed the participants’ resting heart rates, an indicator of overall fitness, finding that those with the lowest rates had a 32% reduced risk of ALS compared to participants with the highest rates.

The author of the study Dr. Anders Myhre Vaage, of Akershus University Hospital in Norway, notes that the diagnosis of ALS in high-profile athletes has fueled the view that heavy physical activity is an environmental risk factor leading to the development and early onset of the disease. .

One study found that NFL players are four times more likely to develop and die from ALS than the general adult male population.

Research has also shown that ALS risk genes are activated by exercise, adding to the growing debate about the relationship between physical activity and ALS.

“There have been conflicting findings on levels of physical activity, fitness and ALS risk,” Myhre Vaage said. “Our study found that for men, a more active lifestyle may be associated with a reduced risk of ALS more than 30 years later.”

What is ALS?

ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the Hall of Fame baseball player who died of it in 1941, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. With ALS, the nerve cells that control muscle function deteriorate and patients gradually become unable to walk, move, eat, speak and breathe, leading to partial or total paralysis and death.

There is no known cure for ALS – the average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years.

Myhre Vaage hopes the study’s findings will lead to more research into ALS risk factors.

“Our findings show that, for men, not only do they perform moderate to high levels of physical activity and fitness NO increase the risk of ALS, but that they may be protective against the disease,” he said. “Future studies of the association between ALS and exercise are needed to take into account sex differences and the higher levels of physical activity of professional athletes.”

Other studies suggest that the type of physical activity is an important factor in reducing the risk of ALS. For example, one study proposed that golf and gardening put men at three times greater risk of developing ALS.

This study found that players and gardeners are particularly prone due to frequent exposure to pesticides, which previous research has linked to the development of the disease.

Famous people who have been diagnosed with ALS

According to the ALS Association, someone dies of ALS and someone is diagnosed with it every 90 minutes — and celebrities aren’t immune to its punishing effects.

Footballer Dwight Clark and physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking have lost their battles with the disease, while singer Roberta Flack, sportswoman Sarah Langs and former Chicago Bears player Steve McMichael are still fighting.