New research from Sweden by Jing Wu and colleagues published in JAMA (2026) has shown that long-term exposure to air pollution increased the risk for motor neuron diseases (MND) such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Long-term exposure to air pollution was also found to be associated with poorer prognosis including an increased risk of mortality and need of invasive ventilation after MND diagnosis. Strengths of this nationwide study include the large sample size. The study also has some limitations including not having data on the sources of the specific particulate matter pollutants. Nevertheless, these new results add to the growing body of literature implicating neurotoxicant exposures from environmental and occupational sources in risk and progression of ALS and associated motor neuron diseases.
Link to original article in JAMA
Link to original article in JAMA
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