Mortality trends of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Norway 1951–2014: an age–period–cohort study

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that the incidence and mortality of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are increasing. Changing environmental factors could influence disease risk differently throughout life span, and also between genders, birth cohorts, and seasons of birth. We aimed at describing long-term ALS mortality trends in Norway between 1951 and 2014 using age-period-cohort analysis. The Norwegian Cause of Death Registry provided ALS mortality data that were age- and sex-adjusted through direct standardization. Poisson regression analyses were used for identification of mortality trends and potential month of birth effects. We identified 5345 ALS cases, of which 54.7 % were men. ALS mortality increased throughout the whole period (p < 0.001), with a mean annual increase of 1.14 %. The increase was confined to those older than 60 years, but rates consistently dropped amongst the absolute oldest. The increase was mainly driven by birth cohort effects that increased from 1860 until 1934 (p < 0.001). No month of birth effect or change in sex ratio was found. The continuous increase in ALS mortality since 1951 is best explained by the long-term changes in exposure to risk factors or in case ascertainment, affecting men and women equally in the generations born since 1860 and at least into 1934.

Assessing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis prevalence in Norway from 2009 to 2015 from compulsory nationwide health registers

“…Reports based on European prospective population based ALS-registers are more uniform (7-9/100,000) (21) and concur with our estimates. The difference in ALS prevalence between the present and previous studies exceeds the modest increase in incidence suggested by mortality (1). This discrepancy may be due to methodological differences, as previous studies were based solely on hospital files (2,3).…”

“…Mortality data for ALS are generally considered reliable (10). In line with this, we have earlier shown that 96 % of deceased patients correctly diagnosed with ALS were retrieved in NCoDR (1).…”

“…Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mortality is increasing within the Norwegian aging population (1). Whereas no nationwide prevalence study has been conducted in Norway, studies based solely on hospital records in two single counties found prevalence rates of 3.67/100,000 on 31 st December 1988 (2) and 4.06/100,000 on 31 st December 2007 (3).…”

Alterations in the stomatognathic system due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

“…Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a chronic, progressive, complex, age-associated syndrome that affects the functions of the superior and inferior neuromotor system through sclerosis and destruction of cells and nerves, leading to the patient’s weakness, causing progressive paralysis, and eventually resulting in death 20 . ALS may be classified as sporadic, which is the most common form globally, and familial, which affects individuals by autosomal dominant inheritance 2 .…”

Efeito da esclerose lateral amiotrófica na atuação do sistema estomatognático - análises eletromiográfica, ultrassonográfica, força de mordida e eficiência mastigatória

“…As alterações funcionais são decorrentes da esclerose das células e dos nervos envolvidos, destruindo o núcleo celular, deixando assim o indivíduo cada vez mais debilitado (MANRIQUE, 2005;PRATT et al, 2012). Os neurônios motores tanto superiores como inferiores sofrem degeneração progressiva e como consequência os indivíduos morrem de insuficiência respiratória ou por complicações infecciosas (ZANOTELI et al, 2004;SCHYMICK et al, 2007;GORDON et al, 2013;STATLAND et al, 2015;NAKKEN et al, 2016 (CRONIN et al, 2007;SUTEDJA et al, 2009;LOGROSCINO et al, 2010). DOUGLAS, 1998;SIÉSSERE et al, 2009;SIQUEIRA, 2012;SANTOS et al, 2014).…”