Table 1.
Demographics and baseline clinical data of the sample under consideration.
| ALS N = 158 | Controls N = 86 | Statistics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years | 61 (31–82) | 62 (33–82) | Z = −0.4, p = 0.7a |
| Male sex, n (%) | 100 (63) | 52 (62) | χ²(1) = 0.1, p = 0.8b |
| Height in cm | 172 [10] | 174 [9] | t(140) = −0.7, p = 0.5c |
| Weight in kg | 75 [14] | 79 [14] | t(126) = −1.0, p = 0.3c |
| Definite ALS1 / Probable ALS1 / Possible ALS1 / Suspected ALS1 / PLS, n (%) | 12 (8) / 66 (42) / 43 (27) / 28 (18) / 9 (6) | N/A | N/A |
| Classic ALS / LMND ALS / UMND ALS / PLS, n (%) | 108 (68) / 27 (17) / 14 (9) / 9 (6) | N/A | N/A |
| Limb- / bulbar-onset, n (%) | 110 (71) / 45 (29)* | N/A | N/A |
| Disease duration (months) | 16 (3–272) | N/A | N/A |
| ALSFRS-R total score | 39 (14–48) | N/A | N/A |
| Sporadic / familial ALS, n (%) | 49 (78) / 14 (22)** | N/A | N/A |
| No NIV / NIV, n (%) | 122 (77) / 16 (10)*** | N/A | N/A |
Unless otherwise reported, mean [SD] or median (range) is given. For group comparisons a Mann-Whitney U testa, χ² testb, or an independent-samples t testc was conducted.
ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALSFRS-R, revised ALS functional rating scale; LMND, lower motor neuron dominant; N, number; N/A, not applicable; NIV, non-invasive ventilation; PLS, primary lateral sclerosis; UMND, upper motor neuron dominant. 1, according to the El Escorial criteria and its revisions14–16. Data were missing in *3, **95 and ***20 patients, respectively. **Of the 14 familial ALS cases, 7 (11%) had mutations in the SOD1 gene and 7 (11%) in the C9orf72 gene. P-values ≤ 0.05 were deemed statistically significant.