Title
Monitoring Huntington's Disease Mortality across a 30-Year Period: Geographic and Temporal Patterns
Date Issued
01 February 2017
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Sánchez-Díaz G.
Villaverde-Hueso A.
Morales-Piga A.
Abaitua-Borda I.
Hens M.
Bermejo-Sánchez E.
Posada De La Paz M.
Alonso-Ferreira V.
Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Publisher(s)
S. Karger AG
Abstract
Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by chorea, dystonia, behavioral disturbances and cognitive decline. The aim of this study is to assess temporal and spatial changes on mortality attributable to HD over 30 years in Spain. Methods: HD data were extracted from the nationwide mortality registry for the period 1984-2013. Annual and 5-year gender- and age-specific rates adjusted for the standard European population were calculated. Geographic analysis was performed by districts from 1999 through 2013, and then estimated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and smoothed SMRs. Results: There were 1,556 HD-related deaths across the study period. An increasing trend in age-adjusted HD mortality was in evidence, specifically from 1994 through 1998. On a year-by-year basis, age-adjusted mortality rates increased from 0.076 per 100,000 population in 1984 to 0.157 in 2013. Geographical differences among districts were evident in specific areas and in the southwest of Spain with a significantly higher HD mortality risk. Conclusion: HD mortality rising trends in Spain might be attributable to improvements in diagnosis leading to a rise in prevalence. Geographical variability in HD mortality could be related to regional differences in disease prevalence, health-care disparities, or other factors which call for in-depth assessment in future studies.
Start page
155
End page
163
Volume
47
Issue
April 3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Epidemiología
Neurología clínica
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85001038041
PubMed ID
Source
Neuroepidemiology
ISSN of the container
02515350
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus