253
Views
24
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The epidemiology of motor neuron disease in Northern Ireland using capture-recapture methodology

, , , , &
Pages 374-378 | Received 06 Jun 2009, Accepted 10 Jun 2009, Published online: 16 Jun 2010
 

Abstract

Capture-recapture analysis allows an investigator to estimate the number of unobserved cases in an epidemiological survey, although it has not been employed widely in published research to date. This study examines the usefulness of capture-recapture analysis in measuring the incidence and prevalence of motor neuron disease (MND) in Northern Ireland (NI). Cases were ascertained from the NI MND register to measure incidence and prevalence. The authors then employed capture-recapture analysis to estimate the number of missing cases. Less than one case was estimated to be missing from the prevalence study, providing a completeness of ascertainment of 99%. Prevalence was 3.3 per 100,000 population adjusted to the European standard population and was unchanged when adjusted for missing cases. Incidence was 1.4 per 100,000 person-years adjusted to the European standard population. Due to the lack of overlapping sources it was inferred that there were no missing cases and completeness of ascertainment was estimated at 100%. In conclusion, capture-recapture analysis is relatively simple to perform and provides an objective measure of case ascertainment in epidemiological studies. The authors feel that future investigators should consider employing capture-recapture methods, where possible, to validate their estimations of disease frequency in MND.

Acknowledgements

The authors express their appreciation to Alison Dick, MND Care Centre Coordinator and Noreen Kearney, MND Care Centre secretary, for their administrative assistance. This project was funded by a North-South project grant supplied by the R & D office.

Declaration of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.