Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37308302›Full record

SynthesisNeurology2023

Global Prevalence and Incidence of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Systematic Review.

Christina Wolfson, Danielle E Gauvin, Foluso Ishola, Maryam Oskoui

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
93citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

93 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Safety profile of tofersen in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. A systematic review and functionalFrontiers in neuroscience · 2025
    Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Trial
  10. Review
  11. Article
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  14. Article
  15. Beneficial Effects of Putative Hydrogen Sulfide (HMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
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  17. Article
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  19. Article
  20. Review

33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Christina WolfsonFrom the Neuroepidemiology Research Unit (C.W., D.E.G.), Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; Department of Medicine (C.W.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology (C.W., F.I.), Biostatistics and Occupational Health, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of Pediatrics (M.O.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. christina.wolfson@mcgill.ca.
Danielle E GauvinFrom the Neuroepidemiology Research Unit (C.W., D.E.G.), Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; Department of Medicine (C.W.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology (C.W., F.I.), Biostatistics and Occupational Health, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of Pediatrics (M.O.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Foluso IsholaFrom the Neuroepidemiology Research Unit (C.W., D.E.G.), Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; Department of Medicine (C.W.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology (C.W., F.I.), Biostatistics and Occupational Health, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of Pediatrics (M.O.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Maryam OskouiFrom the Neuroepidemiology Research Unit (C.W., D.E.G.), Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; Department of Medicine (C.W.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology (C.W., F.I.), Biostatistics and Occupational Health, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of Pediatrics (M.O.), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectivesAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder affecting upper and lower motor neurons. Due to its rarity and rapidly progressive nature, studying the epidemiology of ALS is challenging, and a comprehensive picture of the global burden of this disease is lacking. The objective of this systematic review was to describe the global incidence and prevalence of ALS.

methodsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL to identify articles published between January 1, 2010, and May 6, 2021. Studies that were population based and reported estimates of prevalence, incidence, and/or mortality of ALS were eligible for inclusion. This study focuses on the incidence and prevalence. Quality assessment was performed using a tool developed to evaluate methodology relevant to prevalence and incidence studies. This review was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42021250559.

resultsThis search generated 6,238 articles, of which 140 were selected for data extraction and quality assessment. Of these, 85 articles reported on the incidence and 61 on the prevalence of ALS. Incidence ranged from 0.26 per 100,000 person-years in Ecuador to 23.46 per 100,000 person-years in Japan. Point prevalence ranged from 1.57 per 100,000 in Iran to 11.80 per 100,000 in the United States. Many articles identified cases with ALS from multiple data sources. DISCUSSION: There is variation in reported incidence and prevalence estimates of ALS across the world. While registries are an important and powerful tool to quantify disease burden, such resources are not available everywhere. This results in gaps in reporting of the global epidemiology of ALS, as highlighted by the degree of variation (and quality) in estimates of incidence and prevalence reported in this review.

Indexed as

Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisAfricaAsiaEuropeHumansIncidenceNorth AmericaOceaniaPrevalenceSouth America

Identifiers

PMID37308302
PMCPMC10424837

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.