The association between ALS and population density: A population based study.
We aimed to assess whether rural residence is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the south-east of England using a population based register. Previous studies in different populations have produced contradictory findings. Residence defined by London borough or non-metropolitan district at time of diagnosis was recorded for each incident case in the South-East England ALS Register between 1995 and 2005. Each of the 26 boroughs or districts of the catchment area of the register was classified according to population density. Age- and sex-adjusted incidence of ALS was calculated for each region and the relationship with population density tested by linear regression, thereby controlling for the underlying population structure. We found that population density in region of residence at diagnosis explained 25% of the variance in ALS rates (r = 0.5, p < 0.01). Thus, in this cohort in the south-east of England, people with ALS were more likely to be resident in areas of high population density at diagnosis.
Scott
Kirsten M
KM
King's College Hospital, London, UK.
Abhinav
Kumar
K
Wijesekera
Lokesh
L
Ganesalingam
Jeban
J
Goldstein
Laura H
LH
Janssen
Anna
A
Dougherty
Andrew
A
Willey
Emma
E
Stanton
Biba R
BR
Turner
Martin R
MR
Ampong
Mary-Ann
MA
Sakel
Mohammed
M
Orrell
Richard
R
Howard
Robin
R
Shaw
Christopher E
CE
Nigel Leigh
P
P
Al-Chalabi
Ammar
A
D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011156:Population Density; D012042:Registries; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population