TY - JOUR
T1 - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A higher than expected incidence in people over 80 years of age
AU - Aragones, Josep Maria
AU - Altimiras, Jacint
AU - Roura-Poch, Pere
AU - Homs, Elvira
AU - Bajo, Lorena
AU - Povedano, Monica
AU - Cortés-Vicente, Elena
AU - Illa, Isabel
AU - Al-Chalabi, Ammar
AU - Rojas-García, Ricard
PY - 2016/11/16
Y1 - 2016/11/16
N2 - © 2016 World Federation of Neurology on behalf of the Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases. Our objective was to determine the age-specific incidence and clinical-epidemiological characteristics of an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cohort of patients in Catalonia (Spain). New cases diagnosed between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013 were 41 (20 males and 21 females), with an annual crude incidence rate of 2.7 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 1.90–3.59). The incidence rate increased with age reaching a peak in the age group of 70–79 years. There was a non-significant decrease in the incidence rate in the group of patients over 80 years (p-value = 0.75) at 17.99 per 100,000 person years (95% CI 7.81–28.17). The percentage of patients over 80 years of age was 29.3% and over age 85 years was 9.8%. The prevalence rate at the end of the study period was 8.38/100,000 of the total population. Mean age at symptom onset was 76.0 years. Onset of symptoms was bulbar or generalized in 36.6% of cases. In conclusion, ALS incidence in Osona is within the range of other countries across Europe. Our results suggest that the age-specific incidence rate of ALS increases with age through the oldest age groups suggesting an age-risk effect to develop the disease.
AB - © 2016 World Federation of Neurology on behalf of the Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases. Our objective was to determine the age-specific incidence and clinical-epidemiological characteristics of an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cohort of patients in Catalonia (Spain). New cases diagnosed between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013 were 41 (20 males and 21 females), with an annual crude incidence rate of 2.7 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 1.90–3.59). The incidence rate increased with age reaching a peak in the age group of 70–79 years. There was a non-significant decrease in the incidence rate in the group of patients over 80 years (p-value = 0.75) at 17.99 per 100,000 person years (95% CI 7.81–28.17). The percentage of patients over 80 years of age was 29.3% and over age 85 years was 9.8%. The prevalence rate at the end of the study period was 8.38/100,000 of the total population. Mean age at symptom onset was 76.0 years. Onset of symptoms was bulbar or generalized in 36.6% of cases. In conclusion, ALS incidence in Osona is within the range of other countries across Europe. Our results suggest that the age-specific incidence rate of ALS increases with age through the oldest age groups suggesting an age-risk effect to develop the disease.
U2 - 10.1080/21678421.2016.1187175
DO - 10.1080/21678421.2016.1187175
M3 - Article
VL - 17
SP - 522
EP - 527
JO - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
JF - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
SN - 2167-8421
IS - 7-8
ER -