Atlanta metropolitan area amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) surveillance: incidence and prevalence 2009–2011 and survival characteristics through 2015

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of reported ALS cases in the Atlanta* metropolitan area, 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011 (n = 281).

Demographics	Categories	Count of Cases (% of cases)
		#	%
Age Groups (Years)	18–39	22	7.8
	40–49	50	17.8
	50–59	75	26.7
	60–69	71	25.3
	70–79	48	17.1
	≥80	9	3.2
	Unknown	6	2.1
Sex	Male	172	61.2
	Female	109	38.8
Race	White	195	69.4
	Black	65	23.1
	Asian	8	2.8
	Other	1	0.4
	Unknown	12	4.3
Ethnicity	Hispanic	9	3.2
	Non-Hispanic	250	89.0
	Unknown	22	7.8
El Escorial Diagnosis Criteria	Definite	164	58.4
	Probable	45	16.0
	Probable (laboratory supported)	20	7.1
	Possible	45	16.0
	Unclassified	7	2.5
Family History of ALS	Yes	11	3.9
	No	259	92.2
	Unknown	11	3.9
Total		281	100

^* Atlanta metropolitan area includes Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.

Table 2 Annual incidence rates for ALS cases diagnosed in a 3-year period in the Atlanta metropolitan area, 2009–2011 (n = 155).

Characteristic	2009		2010		2011		2009–2011
	Cases	Incidence	Cases	Incidence	Cases	Incidence	Average Incidence per 100,000 person years
Sex
Male	31	1.90	32	1.96	29	1.77	1.88
Female	19	1.10	24	1.39	20	1.16	1.21
Race*
White	36	2.33	42	2.72	36	2.33	2.46
Black	12	0.91	13	0.99	12	0.91	0.94
Asian	2	0.93	1	0.46	1	0.46	0.62
Ethnicity**
Hispanic	0	0.00	2	0.47	4	0.95	0.47
Non-Hispanic	50	1.70	52	1.77	45	1.53	1.66
Total	50	1.49	56	1.66	49	1.46	1.54

* Excludes unknown and other race (n = 13).

** Excludes unknown ethnicity (n = 22).

Table 3 Prevalence rates for 2009, 2010, and 2011 for the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Categories	US 2010 Census Population	2009		2010		2011
		Cases	Prevalence	Cases	Prevalence	Cases	Prevalence
Sex
Male	1,635,376	108	6.60	116	7.09	118	7.22
Female	1,729,921	62	3.58	67	3.87	69	3.99
Race
White	1,546,399	115	7.44	130	8.41	137	8.86
Black	1,314,721	39	2.97	40	3.04	40	3.04
Asian	215,881	6	2.78	6	2.78	5	2.32
Ethnicity
Hispanic	422,202	2	0.47	3	0.71	6	1.42
Non-Hispanic	2,943,095	150	5.10	167	5.67	170	5.78
Total*	3,365,297	170	5.05	183	5.44	187	5.56

* Includes those with unknown, other race, and unknown ethnicity.

Table 4 Median survival time by demographic and diagnosis characteristics for the Atlanta metropolitan area (n = 204).

Categories	Number of Cases	Median Survival Time (95% CI*) in Months	Mean Survival Time (SD)	Log-rank test of equality
Age Groups
18–39	12	54.5 (19, 86)	72.5 (21.8)	p ≤ 0.0001
40–49	31	38.0 (23, 49)	42.1 (4.73)	–
50–59	51	28.0 (18, 37)	36.7 (5.00)	–
60–69	58	24.0 (18, 31)	32.8 (4.03)	–
70–79	43	16.0 (11, 22)	23.2 (3.87)	–
≥80	9	10.0 (3, 21)	12.2 (2.24)	–
Sex
Male	124	26.0 (21, 34)	37.7 (3.16)	p = 0.0874
Female	80	21.0 (14, 25)	29.8 (4.05)	–
Race**
Black	49	21.0 (14, 34)	38.7 (3.43)	p = 0.3771
White	142	23.0 (21, 29)	35.1 (3.26)	–
Asian	6	38.0 (18, 124)	50.3 (16.9)	–
Ethnicity***
Hispanic	4	48.0 (37, 55)	47.0 (3.74)	p = 0.4215
Non-Hispanic	185	23.0 (20, 26)	33.2 (2.64)	–
El Escorial Diagnosis Criteria – Groups
Definite, Probable and Probable (laboratory-supported)	176	24.0 (21, 29)	35.6 (2.80)	p = 0.3301
Possible and Not classifiable	28	21.0 (10, 29)	28.3 (4.51)	–
Total	204	23.0 (21, 28)	34.6 (2.50)	–

* Confidence interval (CI).

** Excludes unknown and other race (n = 7).

*** Excludes unknown ethnicity (n = 15).