Table 1.
Characteristics of ALS cases and controls in frequency-matched case–control analysis of ALS and medications prior to ALS diagnosis in a U.S. Medicare population, 2006–2014.
| Variable Age at selection, y | ALS Cases | Controls | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|||
| n = 10,450 | (Percent) | n = 104,500 | (Percent) | |
| 66–69 | 2079 | (19.9) | 20,790 | (19.9) |
| 70–74 | 3218 | (30.8) | 32,180 | (30.8) |
| 75–79 | 2627 | (25.1) | 26,270 | (25.1) |
| 80–84 | 1727 | (16.5) | 17,270 | (16.5) |
| 85–89 | 799 | (7.7) | 7990 | (7.7) |
| Age at selection, median y | 74.00 | 74.00 | ||
| Sex | ||||
| Men | 5095 | (48.8) | 50,950 | (48.8) |
| Women | 5355 | (51.2) | 53,550 | (51.2) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 8969 | (85.8) | 81,990 | (78.5) |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 578 | (5.5) | 8826 | (8.5) |
| Hispanic | 560 | (5.4) | 9011 | (8.6) |
| Other/unknown | 343 | (3.3) | 4673 | (4.5) |
| Selection year | ||||
| 2008 | 1262 | (12.1) | 12,620 | (12.1) |
| 2009 | 1347 | (12.9) | 13,470 | (12.9) |
| 2010 | 1452 | (13.9) | 14,520 | (13.9) |
| 2011 | 1547 | (14.8) | 15,470 | (14.8) |
| 2012 | 1537 | (14.7) | 15,370 | (14.7) |
| 2013 | 1671 | (16.0) | 16,710 | (16.0) |
| 2014 | 1634 | (15.6) | 16,340 | (15.6) |
| Regiona | ||||
| Northeast | 630 | (6.0) | 5074 | (4.9) |
| New York+ | 966 | (9.2) | 10,079 | (9.6) |
| Mid-Atlantic | 1018 | (9.7) | 10,158 | (9.7) |
| Southeast | 2160 | (20.7) | 23,240 | (22.2) |
| Northwest | 412 | (3.9) | 3675 | (3.5) |
| Western Pacific | 1172 | (11.2) | 11 843 | (11.3) |
| Mountain | 325 | (3.1) | 3353 | (3.2) |
| Southwest | 1128 | (10.8) | 12,320 | (11.8) |
| Central | 625 | (6.0) | 6082 | (5.8) |
| Great Lakes | 2000* | (19.1*) | 18,531 | (17.7) |
| State code not in U.S. | – | – | 145 | (0.1) |
| Median mos. of coverage | ||||
| Part A/B/non-HMO coverage | 98.00 | 91.00 | ||
| Part D coverage | 49.00 | 50.00 | ||
| Average physician visits/mo. | 3.71 | 2.75 | ||
| Socioeconomic status | ||||
| Low-income subsidy | 2907 | (27.8) | 32,984 | (31.6) |
| Medicaid eligibility | 2736 | (26.2) | 29,599 | (28.3) |
| Co-morbidities | ||||
| Dyslipidemia | 7026 | (67.2) | 66,705 | (63.8) |
| Diabetes | 2665 | (25.5) | 30,393 | (29.1) |
| Stroke | 341 | (3.3) | 2666 | (2.6) |
| Renal disease | 734 | (7.0) | 8589 | (8.2) |
| Hypertension | 7122 | (68.2) | 70,114 | (67.1) |
| Acute Myocardial Infarction | 284 | (2.7) | 2963 | (2.8) |
| Obesity | 692 | (6.6) | 7866 | (7.5) |
| COPD | 1794 | (17.2) | 17,348 | (16.6) |
ALS: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; HMO: health maintenance organization.
a
New York + refers to New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands; the “*” in the Great Lakes distribution refers to a slight alteration of the frequency to ensure that the numbers for the category “State code not in U.S.”, which are not presented, cannot be calculated through subtraction, as is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for groups of subjects that are ≤10.