Using data from the French National Health Data System (SNDS), a French team has carried out a study of changes in the incidence of motor neurone disease between 2010 and 2023.
- During this period, 30,028 new cases of motor neurone disease were recorded, with an average of 2,145 new cases per year.
- The crude incidence rate rose from 2.99 to 3.49 cases per 100,000 person-years between 2010 and 2019, an increase of 1.7% per year, a significant increase for men (but not for women) and particularly significant in the 30-39, 70-79 and 90-99 age groups.
- The age- and sex-standardised incidence rate rose from 2.99 to 3.20 cases per 100,000 person-years over this period (+0.7% per year).
- Over the following period (2019-2023), however, the incidence rate fell significantly, by 1.8% per year.
- The median survival time after diagnosis was 18.1 months among new cases identified in 2010, 17.8 months in 2015 and 15.6 months in 2019. A higher mortality rate was found in the 2019-2021 patient cohorts compared with the 2010 cohort.
The ageing of the population explains part of the increase in incidence between 2010 and 2019, but further research is needed to investigate other causes. These results also show the significant and lasting impact of the Covid-19 crisis, which has disrupted access to care in particular.
