Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients and healthy controls.
| Variable | Patients (n =136) | Healthy controls (n =136) | p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median | Mean±SD | Median | Mean±SD | ||
| Age at examination (years) | 54.8 | 55.0±11.4 | 54.0 | 54.7±10.9 | 0.848 |
| Age at symptom onset (years) | 53.9 | 53.8±11.3 | |||
| Sex (male/female) | 69/67 | 69/67 | 1 | ||
| Bulbar onset | 37 (27.2%) | ||||
| Total ALSFRS-R score | 41.0 | 40.0±4.9 | |||
| Disease duration (months) | 11.9 | 13.6±7.4 | |||
| BMI (kg/m2) | 22.5 | 22.6±3.4 | 23.1 | 22.9±2.8 | 0.331 |
| Males (n=69) | 22.9 | 22.7±3.5 | 22.8 | 22.7±3.0 | 0.998 |
| Females (n=67) | 22.4 | 22.4±3.3 | 23.1 | 23.1±2.5 | 0.146 |
| Serum UA (mg/dL) | 4.60 | 4.50±1.17 | 5.40 | 5.51±1.22 | <0.001 |
| Males (n=69) | 5.00 | 4.98±1.24 | 6.20 | 6.13±1.10 | <0.001 |
| Females (n=67) | 3.90 | 4.01±0.85 | 4.80 | 4.87±0.98 | <0.001 |
ALSFRS-R: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised, BMI: body mass index, UA: uric acid.