Epidemiology in a Focus of Motor Neuron Disease on the Kii Peninsula of Japan : A Death Rate Survey
1994 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 31-35
Details
1994 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 31-35
In the Hohara area of Nansei-cho, one of the foci of motor neuron disease (MND) on the Kii peninsula, the death rates of MND and of leading causes of death were surveyed to obtain a clue to the etiology of MND in the Western Pacific. The crude annual death rate of MND in the Hohara area was 47.6 per 100, 000 population (for 1961-1990), and the standardized mortality ratio of MND was 5403. The death rate survey showed that the mortality of nonischemic heart disease was higher and that of diabetes mellitus was lower in Hohara as compared with the whole Japanese population. The mortality of MND has a positive correlation with the mortality of cerebrovascular diseases, and also with that of nephritis and nephrotic syndrome in Nansei-cho. These death rate data may suggest that etiological factors of MND in this focus could also influence the mortality of some other diseases. J Epidemiol, 1994; 4 : 31-35.
