Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2025
A Method of Trigonometric Modelling of Seasonal Variation Demonstrated with Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Data
Published on: December 9, 2015
Prevalence and incidence of neuromuscular conditions in the UK between 2000 and 2019: A retrospective study using
Iain M Carey1, Emma Banchoff1, Niranjanan Nirmalananthan2
1Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Background:
In the UK, large-scale electronic primary care datasets can provide up-to-date, accurate epidemiological information on rarer diseases, where specialist diagnoses from hospital discharges and clinic letters are generally well recorded and electronically searchable. Current estimates of the number of people living with neuromuscular disease (NMD) have largely been based on secondary care data sources and lacked direct denominators.
Objective:
To estimate trends in the recording of neuromuscular disease in UK primary care between 2000-2019.
Methods:
The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) database was searched electronically to estimate incidence and prevalence rates (per 100,000) for a range of NMDs in each year. To compare trends over time, rates were age standardised to the most recent CPRD population (2019).
Results:
Approximately 13 million patients were actively registered in each year. By 2019, 28,230 active patients had ever received a NMD diagnosis (223.6), which was higher among males (239.0) than females (208.3). The most common classifications were Guillain-Barre syndrome (40.1), myasthenia gravis (33.7), muscular dystrophy (29.5), Charcot-Marie-Tooth (29.5) and inflammatory myopathies (25.0). Since 2000, overall prevalence grew by 63%, with the largest increases seen at older ages (≥65-years). However, overall incidence remained constant, though myasthenia gravis incidence has risen steadily since 2008, while new cases of muscular dystrophy fell over the same period.
Conclusions:
Lifetime recording of many NMDs on primary care records exceed current estimates of people living with these conditions; these are important data for health service and care planning. Temporal trends suggest this number is steadily increasing, and while this may partially be due to better recording, it cannot be simply explained by new cases, as incidence remained constant. The increase in prevalence among older ages suggests increases in life expectancy among those living with NMDs may have occurred.
More Related Videos
09:18Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Published on: January 12, 2019
09:07Electrophysiological Motor Unit Number Estimation MUNE Measuring Compound Muscle Action Potential CMAP in Mouse Hindlimb Muscles
Published on: September 25, 2015
Related Concept Videos
01:28Disorders of the Skeletal Muscle
Musculoskeletal disorders
Musculoskeletal disorders involve injuries and conditions affecting the skeletal muscles and associated connective tissues. These disorders can arise from acute biomechanical stresses or chronic overuse and can occur across different age groups. Common injuries include sprains, fractures, and muscular strains, often resulting from...
01:08Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
01:15Myasthenia Gravis: Diagnostic Tests
The edrophonium test is a diagnostic tool for myasthenia gravis. It involves...
01:20Myasthenia Gravis: Overview and Treatment
These antibodies interfere with the function of the nicotinic receptors in three ways: by binding to the receptor and disrupting acetylcholine binding; by causing cross-linking of receptors which...