A geographical study on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Rio Grande Do Norte, Brazil, from 2005 to 2018

• Autor(a) principal: Gonçalves, Maria De Jesus
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Oliveira, Roberto Teodoro Gurgel De, Santana, Glauciane Costa, Fregonezi, Guilherme Augusto De Freitas, Vale, Sancha Helena De Lima, Lais, Lucia Leite
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRN
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/52837; https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2022.2102429
• topic: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; motor neuron disease; epidemiology; incidence; spatial analysis

Objective: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with variable incidence and prevalence worldwide. However, clinical-epidemiological studies on ALS are scarce in Brazil. Thus, this study investigated whether ALS incidence had uniform spatial distribution in population-based cluster analysis in Rio Grande do Norte state (Brazil), from 2005 to 2018. Methods: new cases of ALS were identified in a database of the ALS multidisciplinary care center of the Onofre Lopes University Hospital in Natal (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil). Approaches were based on incidence (empirical Bayes estimator and Moran's I analysis) and cluster analyses (Moran scatter plot and spatial correlogram). Results: a total of 177 patients (59% males) participated in the study; the mean age of ALS onset was 57 years. Mean annual incidence of ALS was 0.3769 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% confidence interval of 0.0889), higher in males than in females (0.4516 per 100,000 vs. 0.3044 per 100,000). According to spatial statistics, patients were homogeneously distributed throughout the studied area. Conclusion: a low estimate was observed compared with other populations. Results did not indicate areas of increased risk or significant spatial geographic dependence, suggesting a random ALS incidence in Rio Grande do Norte.