Incidence of myasthenia gravis in the province of Ferrara: a community-based study.
BACKGROUND
The reported annual incidence of myasthenia gravis (MG) ranges from 0.25 to 15 per million. The sex- and age-related pattern of disease incidence is still debated.


METHODS
An intensive descriptive study was performed in the province of Ferrara (mean population 360,950 people) over the period 1985 through 2000.


RESULTS
The average crude annual incidence rate was 2 per 100,000. We confirm a female preponderance in the total population, particularly in the youngest age groups.


CONCLUSIONS
We observed an early increase in incidence in females, partly due to thymoma-associated MG, while MG without thymoma showed increasing incidence with age nonsignificantly different in the two sexes.
Sezione di Clinica Neurologica, Dipartimento di Discipline Medico Chirurgiche della Comunicazione e del Comportamento, and Centro di Neuroscienze, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. cti@dns.unife.it
I
I
Casetta
E
E
Fallica
V
V
Govoni
C
C
Azzini
M
M
Tola
E
E
Granieri
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017678:Sex Distribution