Study Finds Jobs With Degenerative Brain Disease Risk
MSNBC.com reports on a study that found some jobs carry a higher risk of degenerative brain disease such as Alzheimer's or dementia. Some of the jobs appear to involve exposure to chemicals that might be a risk factor for these diseases. However, the reason why some of the positions, like bank tellers and teachers, have a higher than normal risk is unclear.
In their analysis, Park and his colleagues found that the bank tellers, clergy, aircraft mechanics and hairdressers had highest odds of dying from Alzheimer’s disease. For Parkinson's disease, the highest risks were among biological scientists, teachers, clergy members and other religious workers.
The risk of death from presenile dementia -- a form of dementia that arises before the age of 65 -- was greatest among dentists, graders and sorters in industries other than agriculture and, again, clergy.
Veterinarians, hairdressers and graders and sorters had the highest risks of dying from motor neuron disease, the most common form of which is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease — an invariably fatal degeneration of the central nervous system that causes muscle wasting and paralysis.
The study, published in the the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, examined the death records from 22 states from 1992 to 1998. People working in these fields would certainly appreciate additional studies to narrow down the agents responsible for the increase risk of brain disease. (via Health News Blog)
