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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that may increase your risk of developing post-polio syndrome include:
- Severity of initial polio infection. The more severe the initial infection, the more likely that you'll have signs and symptoms of post-polio syndrome.
- Age at onset of initial illness. If you acquired polio as an adolescent or adult, rather than as a young child, your chances of developing post-polio syndrome increase.
- Recovery. The greater your recovery after acute polio, the more likely it seems that post-polio syndrome will develop. This may be because greater recovery places additional stress on motor neurons.
- Physical activity. If you often perform physical activity to the point of exhaustion or fatigue, this may overwork already stressed-out motor neurons and increase your risk of post-polio syndrome.
References
- Shefner JM, et al. Post-polio syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Polio disease - questions and answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/polio/dis-faqs.htm. Accessed Jan. 16, 2009.
- Post-polio syndrome fact sheet, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/post_polio/detail_post_polio.htm. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
- Howard RS. Poliomyelitis and the postpolio syndrome. British Medical Journal. 2005;330:1314.
