Table 1 Characteristics of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and controls.
| Patients with ALS (n = 132) | Controls (n = 220) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years), median (range)* | 58 (25–79) | 59 (28–81) |
| Sex, n (%) | ||
| Male | 89 (67) | 136 (65) |
| Female | 43 (33) | 73 (35) |
| Site of onset, n (%) | ||
| Spinal | 105 (79) | |
| Bulbar | 27 (21) | |
| El Escorial category, n (%) | ||
| Possible | 29 (22) | |
| Probable | 79 (60) | |
| Definite | 24 (18) | |
| Education, n (%) | ||
| Low | 46 (35) | 64 (31) |
| Middle | 44 (33) | 62 (30) |
| High | 42 (32) | 82 (39) |
| Relationship with patient, n (%) | ||
| Friend | 106 (51) | |
| Direct family of partner | 65 (31) | |
| Neighbour | 11 (5) | |
| Partner | 8 (4) | |
| Direct family of patient | 8 (4) | |
| Therapist or care giver | 6 (3) | |
| Colleague | 4 (2) | |
| Smoking, n (%) | ||
| Never | 42 (32) | 60 (30) |
| Ever | 61 (46) | 101 (51) |
| Current† | 29 (22) | 39 (20) |
| Premorbid or current BMI, median, kg/m2 (range)‡ | 25 (18–50) | 25 (19–40) |
| Obese (>30) | 9 (7) | 11 (5) |
| Overweight (25–30) | 60 (46) | 89 (43) |
| Normal or underweight (<25) | 63 (48) | 108 (52) |
BMI, body mass index.
*Age at onset of disease for patients and current age for controls.
†For patients in the year before the onset of disease.
‡For patients, premorbid BMI; for controls, current BMI; in some cases, the sum of the data is not equivalent to the total of patients or controls, as some values are missing.