The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, involved 184 U.S. male veterans with ALS and 194 vets without the disease. All of the men were white and the average age in each group was 63 and 64, respectively.

Analyzing blood samples from the men, the researchers found that a doubling in the blood lead level was associated with a doubling in the risk of ALS. That was true even when the investigators accounted for markers of bone breakdown — suggesting that it was not the ALS causing the higher lead levels.

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