International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 26, 1024-1032, Copyright © 1997 by International Epidemiological Association
J Veiga-Cabo, J Almazan-Isla, JM Sendra-Gutierrez and J de Pedro-Cuesta
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to describe the temporal and
spatial patterns of motor neuron disease (MND) in Spain. METHODS: We
studied data where MND was stated as the principal cause of death in
official statistics from Spain. Time trends were analysed for age-, sex-
specific and age-adjusted rates for the period 1951-1990. Age-adjusted
mortality and relative risk, obtained by Poisson regression adjusting for
age, were calculated for each province from deaths during the period
1975-1988. Maps were constructed using log transformed rates. Statistical
significance of spatial aggregation was assessed using the Ohno et al.
test. RESULTS: The 1951-1990 mortality rate, age- and sex- adjusted to the
European population, for the population aged > or = 40 years was 1.49
per 100,000; 1.90 and 1.21 for males and females respectively. In general,
mortality increased with age. Age-adjusted rates rose until 1960, dropped
by 70% during the 1960s and declined slightly over the 1951-1990 period as
a whole. From 1970 onwards MND mortality rose evenly, particularly in the
60-69 age group. A North- South gradient was suggested for both sexes with
statistically significant clustering in the Northern coastal regions
and--for males alone--in the Midwest provinces. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality from
MND in Spain displayed a magnitude and recently rising temporal trend
similar to that described in several other countries. Specific traits were:
a decrease during the 1960s, which has been described for Japan only, as
well as spatial heterogeneity and a predominant recent increase among the
60-69 age group. The determinants of these unusual MND mortality patterns
are unknown.
ARTICLES
Differential features of motor neuron disease mortality in Spain
Department of Applied Epidemiology, National Center of Epidemiology, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain.
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