The predictors of survival in Chinese amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease, so it is important to explore the survival factors for ALS. Our aim was to evaluate the predictors of survival in Chinese ALS patients. A total of 1049 sporadic ALS patients were enrolled. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare survival time. Cox proportional hazards function and the hazard ratio were used to identify adjusted prognostic predictors. Results showed that the mean age of onset was 52.6 +/- 12.0 years. During follow-up, 155 patients (14.8%) were lost and 378 patients were deceased. Median survival was 33 months for the deceased patients. In the adjusted Cox proportional hazard model, age of onset, diagnosis delay, rate of disease progression, and non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) treatment had an effect on survival in ALS. In conclusion, our study provides information on survival factors for Chinese ALS patients. Although the onset age of Chinese ALS patients is earlier than that of Caucasian patients, survival factors, including the age of onset, diagnostic delay, rate of disease progression, and NIPPV treatment, are similar.