No evidence for a large difference in ALS frequency in populations of African and European origin: A population based study in inner city London

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested a lower incidence of ALS in people of African origin. We used a population based register in an urban setting from inner city London postcodes where there is a large population of people of African ancestry to compare the frequency of ALS in people of European and African origin. Population statistics stratified by age, gender and ethnicity were obtained from the 2001 census. Incidence and prevalence were calculated in each ethnic group. Results showed that in a population of 683,194, of which 22% were of African ancestry, 88 individuals with ALS were identified over a seven-year period, including 14 people with African ancestry. The adjusted incidence in people of African ancestry was 1.35 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 0.72–2.3) and in those of European ancestry 1.97 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 1.55–2.48). In conclusion, in this small population based study we could not detect a difference in rates of ALS between people of African ancestry and those of European ancestry.

Key words::

• Population based register
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• ethnicity
• incidence

Acknowledgements

We thank the NIHR specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health, the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the ALS Association. This work was supported by research grant BAE from the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Community's Health Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) [259867 to A.A.C. and C.E.S.].

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.