1. Myasthenia gravis on the Dutch antilles: an epidemiological study
- Author
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H. Holtsema, R.E. Rico, Jan B. M. Kuks, J.R. Falconi, H.J.G.H. Oosterhuis, and J. Mourik
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,West Indies ,Prevalence ,Annual incidence ,Sex Factors ,Epidemiology ,Myasthenia Gravis ,Medicine ,Humans ,Age of Onset ,Child ,West indies ,Aged ,Tropical Climate ,business.industry ,Incidence (epidemiology) ,Public health ,Incidence ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Myasthenia gravis ,Epidemiologic Studies ,Tropical islands ,DENMARK ,Surgery ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,business ,FOLLOW ,Demography - Abstract
We carried out an epidemiological study on thr prevalence and annual incidence of myasthenia gravis on tropical islands Curacao and Aruba in the period 1980 1995. Twenty-one patients (seven men and 14 women) were identified. The point prevalence increased from 29 per million in 1980 to about 70 per million in 1990-1995; the annual incidence over the total period was 4.7 per million. The female:male ratio was 2:1; purely ocular cases (2/21) comprised 9.5% and thymomas (4/21), 19%. These data are in accordance with most other epidemiological studies in non-tropical areas. No other studies on myasthenia gravis in tropical areas have been reported. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2000