Geographic Analysis of Motor Neuron Disease Mortality and Heavy Metals Released to Rivers in Spain

Germán Sánchez-Díaz, Francisco Escobar, Hannah Badland, Greta Arias-Merino, Manuel Posada de la Paz and Verónica Alonso-Ferreira
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Germán Sánchez-Díaz: Institute of Rare Diseases Research (IIER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28029, Spain
Francisco Escobar: Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Alcala, Alcalá de Henares 28801, Spain
Hannah Badland: Healthy Liveable Cities Group, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia
Greta Arias-Merino: Institute of Rare Diseases Research (IIER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28029, Spain
Manuel Posada de la Paz: Institute of Rare Diseases Research (IIER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28029, Spain
Verónica Alonso-Ferreira: Institute of Rare Diseases Research (IIER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28029, Spain

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: The etiology of motor neuron disease (MND) is still unknown. The aims of this study were to: (1) analyze MND mortality at a fine-grained level; and (2) explore associations of MND and heavy metals released into Spanish river basins. MND deaths were extracted from the Spanish nationwide mortality registry (2007–2016). Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for MND were estimated at a municipal level. Sites that emitted quantities of heavy metals above the regulatory thresholds were obtained from the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register database (2007–2015). The relative risks for non-exposed and exposed municipalities (considering a downstream 20 km river section) by type of heavy metal were analyzed using a log-linear model. SMRs were significantly higher in central and northern municipalities. SMRs were 1.14 (1.10–1.17) higher in areas exposed to heavy metals than in non-exposed areas: 0.95 (0.92–0.96). Considering the different metals, we found the following increased MND death risks in exposed areas: 20.9% higher risk for lead, 20.0% for zinc, 16.7% for arsenic, 15.7% for chromium, 15.4% for cadmium, 12.7% for copper, and 12.4% for mercury. This study provides associations between MND death risk and heavy metals in exposed municipalities. Further studies investigating heavy metal exposure are needed to progress in MND understanding.

Keywords: motor neuron disease; population-based mortality; geographical analysis; heavy metals; environmental factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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