title: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after long-term exposure to drinking water with high selenium content.
abstract: We examined 9 years' incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease previously associated with a high-selenium environment, in a cohort of 5,182 residents of Reggio Emilia, Italy. This cohort had accidentally been exposed to drinking water with high selenium content. Four cases were diagnosed during the follow-up. Using the remainder of the municipal population as the reference group, the standardized incidence ratio was 4.22 (95% confidence interval = 1.15-10.80). The standardized incidence ratio was higher after limiting the analysis to the subcohort with the longest ascertainable exposure period. The findings appear to confirm a causal association between overexposure to environmental selenium and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vinceti
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guidetti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinotti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rovesti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merlin
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vescovi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergomi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vivoli
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012643:Selenium / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D012643:Selenium