Kondo K, Tsubaki T
J Neurol Sci. 1977 Jul;32(3):411-24. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(77)90023-5.
The age-adjusted female death rate from motor neuron disease in Japan was noted to rise after 1952 and to fall rapidly since about 1960. A similar trend was also noticed in the males. Further study will show whether this was a part of a cyclical change or whether the mortality of the disease has entered a period of prolonged decline in that country. Death rates for neurological diseases in various countries were reported previously for 1953-58. Updating this study for 1966-71, a rising trend of deaths from motor neuron disease was identified in European countries, but the rate has been stationary in the United States. The rapidly changing patterns of the mortality seemed incompatible with a purely genetic causation of the disease. This indicates the need for extensive epidemiological studies to identify the extrinsic factors which induced such a trend, and were thus possibly the cause of the disease. In view of the results of the re-evaluation of the diagnosis in death certificates, mortality figures of motor neuron disease in females appeared reasonably reliable for an epidemiological study.
据观察，日本经年龄调整后的女性运动神经元病死亡率在1952年后上升，自1960年左右开始迅速下降。男性也呈现出类似趋势。进一步的研究将表明，这是周期性变化的一部分，还是该疾病的死亡率在该国已进入长期下降阶段。先前报告了1953 - 1958年各国神经系统疾病的死亡率。对1966 - 1971年的这项研究进行更新后发现，欧洲国家运动神经元病的死亡人数呈上升趋势，但在美国该死亡率一直保持稳定。死亡率的快速变化模式似乎与该疾病纯粹由基因引起的观点不符。这表明需要进行广泛的流行病学研究，以确定导致这种趋势、可能也是该疾病病因的外部因素。鉴于对死亡证明诊断重新评估的结果，女性运动神经元病的死亡率数据对于流行病学研究而言似乎相当可靠。
