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. 2021 Dec;11(12):e2378.
doi: 10.1002/brb3.2378. Epub 2021 Oct 30.

Prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Latium region, Italy

Maria Puopolo  1 , Ilaria Bacigalupo  2 , Paola Piscopo  1 , Eleonora Lacorte  2 , Alessandra Di Pucchio  2 , Marialaura Santarelli  3 , Maurizio Inghilleri  4 , Antonio Petrucci  5 , Mario Sabatelli  6 ; Latium Registry Group; Nicola Vanacore  2
Affiliations

Prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Latium region, Italy

Maria Puopolo et al. Brain Behav. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: Prevalence estimate of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) ranged between 1.1/100,000 and 11.2/100,000 inhabitants with different design of the study (prospective or retrospective) and sample size. The aim of this study is to conduct for the first time an estimate of the ALS prevalence in the Latium region.

Materials and methods: The study was performed in Latium, a region located in the center of Italy, with a population, as of January 1, 2016, of 5888.472 inhabitants. In this region, a network of 15 clinical centers (of which 4 referral ALS centers are located in Rome) and 10 local health authorities involved in the diagnosis and treatment of ALS patients has been identified. Each patient was classified according to the El Escorial revised criteria.

Results: The prevalence study in 2016 identified 353 ALS cases (200 males). By considering population aged >=20 years, the total crude prevalence rate resulted 7.33 (CI95% 6.59-8.14) × 100,000 and 8.75 and 6.05 in males and females, respectively. Age-specific prevalence rates did not differ among males and females in the population aged less than 49 years. The difference emerged in population aged > 50 years. This type of diagnosis was recorded for 343 patients (11 missing). 68% of these patients have a definite diagnosis, 14% likely, 11% possible, and 12% defined as suspect.

Conclusions: The estimate of prevalence rates observed in this study is probably in line with the values reported in the literature for prospective prevalence studies.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; epidemiology studies; neurodegenerative; prevalence; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Site of onset of disease in age and gender specific ALS prevalence rates in Latium in 2016
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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