Widening gap in age at muscular dystrophy–associated death between blacks and whites, 1986–2005
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Abstract
Background: Muscular dystrophies (MDs), characterized by progressive muscle wasting, are associated with 1 in 2,500 deaths in the United States. Although treatments slow the progression, these disorders lead to early death, usually due to cardiac or respiratory failure.
Methods: We analyzed death record data from 18,315 MD-associated deaths that occurred in the United States in 1986 through 2005 to assess trends in the age at death of people with MDs.
Results: From 1986 through 2005, the MD-associated mortality rate did not change among blacks, whites, males, or females. The median age at death among white females with MDs was 12 years higher than among black females. The frequency of reported cardiomyopathy increased among white but not black male decedents with MDs, although cardiomyopathy remained more commonly reported among black males. Among white males, the median age at death increased by 0.2 annually for those with and 1.3 for those without indications of cardiomyopathy. Among black males, the median age at death increased 0.3 years annually among those without reported cardiomyopathy. Among white males, the frequencies of pulmonary failure and pulmonary infection decreased significantly over time.
Conclusions: Changes in age at death and reported clinical comorbidities reflect improvements in the treatment of MDs. White males with MDs have shown a greater increase in age at death over time than black males. Contributing factors to this difference might include differences in types of MDs, rates of genetic and environmental modifiers, natural history, socioeconomic factors, and access to and use of treatment options.
Footnotes
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Editorial, page 948
Supplemental data at www.neurology.org
Study funding: Data analysis and manuscript preparation were supported by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, contract number 200-2003-01396, to McKing Consulting Corporation.
Disclosure: Author disclosures are provided at the end of the article.
Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Received October 12, 2009. Accepted in final form May 11, 2010.
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