Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41873545›Full record

ArticleThe Medical journal of Australia2026

Motor Neuron Disease Mortality Trends in Australia From 1986 to 2023: A Population-Based Study.

Carol M Y Lee, Rupendra N Shrestha, Julian Gold, Mark Stevenson, Kelly L Williams, Lyndal Henden, Sandrine K K Chan Moi Fat, Zoe Zussa, Amanda Wright, Martin Jude and 3 more

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Article in The Medical journal of Australia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Carol M Y LeeMotor Neuron Disease Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Rupendra N ShresthaCentre for Economic Impacts of Genomic Medicine, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5455-0735
Julian GoldAlbion Street Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Mark StevensonUniversity of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Kelly L WilliamsMotor Neuron Disease Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-6319-9473
Lyndal HendenMotor Neuron Disease Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Sandrine K K Chan Moi FatMotor Neuron Disease Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6304-0283
Zoe ZussaMotor Neuron Disease Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0009-0009-2480-7072
Amanda WrightCharles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales, Australia.
Martin JudeRural Clinical School, UNSW Sydney, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
Mark A S LaidlawGeotesta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7937-7844
Willem J R FokkinkMotor Neuron Disease Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Dominic B RoweMotor Neuron Disease Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0912-2146

Funding

NSW Health 341925612
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo analyse longitudinal change in motor neuron disease (MND) mortality in Australia from 1986 to 2023.

designAustralian population-based study of MND mortality.

settingAll MND mortality and Australian population data from 1 January 1986 to 31 December 2023 were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

main outcome measuresMND mortality records were analysed, and certified deaths were summarised by year of registration. MND mortality rates, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and Joinpoint regression trends were calculated. Data were further subset by demographic and geographical categories to report Australian MND mortality by age group, sex, state/territory location and remoteness areas classification.

resultsIn Australia, the total number of MND deaths more than tripled over the past 37 years, from 238 in 1986 to 781 in 2023. The unadjusted mortality rate in 1986 was 1.49 (95% CI, 1.30-1.69) per 100,000 population and increased to 2.93 (95% CI, 2.73-3.14) per 100,000 population by 2023. After age standardisation, the annual percentage change across 1986-2023 was determined to be 0.47% (95% confidence limit, 0.16-0.86). Joinpoint modelling suggests a more recent reduction in adjusted mortality rates. In 2023, MND accounted for 0.43% of all-cause deaths in Australia, increasing from 0.21% in 1986. The number of MND deaths in Australia peaked at age 70-79 years. MND mortality was higher among men than women (rate ratio, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.33-1.51). MND mortality rates were similar among New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland (2.93, 3.08 and 2.85 per 100,000 population, respectively), with higher rates in South Australia and Tasmania (3.44 and 4.12 per 100,000 population, respectively). MND mortality rates were higher in inner and outer regional areas (3.90 and 3.24 per 100,000 population, respectively) compared with major cities (2.79 per 100,000 population).

conclusionsAdjusted MND mortality rates in Australia increased over 37 years.

Indexed as

Motor Neuron DiseaseAgedAged, 80 and overAustraliaFemaleHumansMaleMiddle Ageddeathepidemiologymortalitymotor neuron disease

Identifiers

PMID41873545
PMCPMC13010231

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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.