title: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease deaths in the United States, 1999-2009.
abstract: Our objective was to examine trends and epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/motor neuron disease (MND) associated deaths in the United States. ALS/MND associated death rates and trends in the United States for 1999-2009 were examined using the multiple cause-of-death mortality data. Age-specific and age-adjusted death rates were calculated. For 1999-2009, the average annual age-adjusted death rate was 2.17/100,000 persons. The age-specific rate increased with age until 75-79 years. Males experienced a higher death rate than females. There was no definitive trend in the annual ALS/MND associated death rate, although analyses suggested a possible decrease (p = 0.05); however, the rate increased for persons 20-49 years of age and declined for persons ≥ 65 years of age. The annual rate for males decreased whereas the rate for females showed no change. In conclusion, the suggested decreasing annual ALS/MND associated death rate for 1999-2009 contrasts with earlier reports indicating that the incidence and death rate of ALS were increasing. While the ALS/MND associated death rate slightly increased among adults 20-49 years of age, rates declined among two subpopulations at higher risk for ALS/MND--males and persons ≥ 65 years of age. Continued monitoring of ALS/MND mortality data and additional epidemiological studies will be important to further elucidate these epidemiological trends.
authors.affiliation: Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. jmehal@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mehal
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Holman
authors.forename: Lawrence B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Schonberger
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Sejvar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000401:mortality*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016472:Motor Neuron Disease / Q000401:mortality; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult