title: Epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Emilia Romagna Region (Italy): A population based study.
abstract: Our objective was to describe incidence and clinical features of ALS from a prospective population-based study in Emilia Romagna Region (ERR). From 2009 onwards, a prospective registry recorded all incident cases of ALS among residents in the ERR (population, 4.4 million inhabitants), involving 17 neurological departments. For each patient, detailed demographic and clinical information was collected by caring physicians. Results showed that from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011, 347 patients received a new diagnosis of ALS with a crude incidence rate of 2.63/100,000/year. There was micro-geographic heterogeneity throughout ERR, with higher incidence rates in the low density population (3.27/100,000) (p < 0.01). ALS patients have been more frequently employed in agriculture than the general ERR population (8.64% vs. 4.6%, p < 0.01). Clinical features were similar to those described in previous population based studies. In conclusion, we report incidence rates similar to those reported by European registries, reflecting good accuracy of our prospective study. We confirmed previous studies reporting higher incidence rates in rural areas and among agricultural workers. Although genetics has been gaining increasing importance in ALS aetiology, some epidemiological data are still unexplained. Identifying geographical areas or populations with high incidence rates can be a starting point for identifying environmental risk factors. Further studies having this specific aim can shed light on these topics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, St. Agostino-Estense Hospital , Modena.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mandrioli
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Biguzzi
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guidi
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Venturini
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sette
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Terlizzi
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ravasio
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casmiro
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salvi
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liguori
authors.forename: Romana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzi
authors.forename: Vladimiro
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pietrini
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chierici
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santangelo
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Granieri
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mussuto
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borghi
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fini
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Georgoulopoulou
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Pasqua
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vinceti
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonvicini
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferro
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: D'Alessandro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018672:Community Health Planning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; clinical features; incidence; population based study; registry