CDC Press Release: National ALS Registry Releases Updated Prevalence Estimates

Press Release   Thursday, August 4, 2016   Contact: CDC Media Relations (404) 639-3286     National ALS Registry Releases Updated Prevalence Estimates   The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) National ALS Registry today released its second report on the prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease) in the United States for the years 2012 and 2013. The report shows the Registry identified 14,713 and 15,908 people, respectively, who met the surveillance case definition of ALS. The estimated ALS prevalence rate was 4.7 cases per 100,000 U.S. population for 2012 and 5.0 cases per 100,000 for 2013.   "It is likely the increased prevalence rate since the first report was issued does not reflect an actual increase in the number of ALS cases. Rather, this increase is more attributable to better detection methods used to identify ALS cases, along with an increased public awareness of the Registry," said Paul Mehta, M.D., medical epidemiologist and principal investigator, National ALS Registry, and lead author of the report.   ALS was more common among whites, males, and people ages 60–69 years. The age groups with the lowest number of ALS cases were people ages 18–39 years and those ≥80 years. Males had a higher prevalence rate of ALS than females overall and across all data sources. These findings remained consistent between October 2010–December 2013 and are similar to findings from long-established ALS registries in Europe and from smaller-scale epidemiologic studies previously conducted in the United States.   Read More>>   ###  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services   CDC works 24/7 saving lives and protecting people from health threats to have a more secure nation.  Whether these threats are chronic or acute, manmade or natural, human error or deliberate attack, global or domestic, CDC is the U.S. health protection agency. The CDC has reached over 1 million email subscribers. Thank you for your support. Modify/Update Subscriber Preferences or Unsubscribe | Learn about CDC Updates Questions or problems? Please contact support@govdelivery.com.             This email was sent to filter@clubhouseb.com using GovDelivery,on behalf of: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • 1600 Clifton Rd • Atlanta, GA 30333 • 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)