Epidemiology

The Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 estimated the worldwide all-age prevalence of all motor neuron diseases to be 4.5 per 100,000 people, with an increase in age-standardised prevalence of 4.5% over the period 1990 to 2016. The estimated all-age incidence was 0.78 per 100,000 person-years.[8][9]​​ An earlier analysis of ALS incidence per 100,000 population reported values of 2.1 for Europe, 1.8 in the US, and 0.6 in Asia.[10]

The mean age of onset of ALS is about 62 years, with a peak incidence between 60 and 75 years.[10] Limb-onset ALS occurs in about 70% of patients, and bulbar-onset disease in around 25% of patients.[11]

The prevalence of ALS is consistently reported to be higher in men than in women, with a ratio of 1.25:1.[9][12] Some studies have reported that this difference disappears with age.[13]

There are no definite data regarding the distribution of ALS among people of different ethnicities, but a higher incidence in white people than in Asian, African, and Hispanic groups has been suggested.[10][14]

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