Incidence ofGBS in Sweden
15
clinical features of the Guillain]Barre syndrome in Sardinia
Â
in the 1961]80 period. Acta Neurol 11:15]20.
D'Ambrosio G, De Angelis G, Vizioli R (1983). Epidemiology
Â
ofGuillain ]Barre syndrome in Campania (South Italy).
Preliminary results. Acta Neurol 23:245]252.
de Pedro-Cuesta J, Abraira V, Jiang G-X, Solders G,
Â
Fredrikson S (1996). Guillain]Barre syndrome in south-
west Stockholm. 1973]91, 3. Clinicoepidemiological
subgroups. Acta Neurol Scand 93:175]183.
approximately one third lower than that in the present
study. The male/female rate ratio from the study in
Emilia-Romagna region was 2.07, vs. 1.57 in our study.
High seasonal risk was seen in early spring in Italy and
during winter months in Sweden. The incidence ofGBS
in a recent retrospective British study, where a
multisource case-finding procedure was used, appeared
to be lower than that in Sweden, despite the lack ofage-
specific or age-adjusted data reported (Rees et al.,
Doll R, Cook P (1967). Summarizing indices for comparison
ofcancer incidence data. Int J Cancer 2:269]279.
1
998).
With regard to treatments in the present study and in
Emilia-Romagna Study Group on Clinical and Epidemiolo-
gical Problems in Neurology (1997). A prospective study on
the incidence and prognosis ofGuillain ]Barre
Emilia-Romagna region, Italy (1992]93). Neurology
8:214]221.
Govoni V, Granieri E, Casetta I et al. (1996). The incidence of
Guillain]Barre syndrome in Ferrara, Italy: is the disease
really increasing? J Neurol Sci 137:62]68.
Hankey GJ (1987). Guillain]Barre syndrome in Western
Â
syndrome in
the other two studies (Emilia-Romagna Study Group,
997; Rees et al., 1998), similar proportions ofpatients
1
4
were treated with IgG (from 32 to 46%), but those
treated with plasmapheresis were 34% in Italy (Emilia-
Romagna study group, 1997) and 42% in Sweden;
while a minority (6%) were treated with plasmapheresis
in the UK (Rees et al., 1998). On the contrary, a higher
proportion (14%) ofpatients treated with steroids and
a smaller proportion (7%) ofpatients receiving
mechanical ventilation were seen in Sweden when
compared with the study in the UK (4% and 25%,
respectively).
Â
Â
Australia. 1980]85. Med J Aust 146:130]133.
Hogg JE, Kobrin DE, Schoenberg BS (1979). The
Guillain]Barre
Â
features. J Chron Dis 32:227]231.
syndrome: Epidemiologic and clinic
Howlett WP, Vedeler CA, Nyland H, Aarli JA (1996).
syndrome in northern Tanzania:
Guillain]Barre
Â
comparison ofepidemiological and clinical ifn dings with
western Norway. Acta Neurol Scand 93:44]49.
a
To conclude, the results from our present study
suggest that the GBS incidence is moderately higher in
Sweden than in other European populations and that
the epidemiological features are similar.
Jiang G-X, de Pedro-Cuesta J, Fredrikson
Guillain]Barre syndrome in south-west Stockholm.
973]91, 1. Quality ofregistered hospital diagnosis and
incidence. Acta Neurol Scand 91:109]117.
Jiang G-X (1996). Guillain]Barre Syndrome in Sweden: from
S (1995).
Â
1
Â
Clinical Epidemiology to Public-Health Surveillance.
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, PhD Thesis, 1]73.
Jiang G-X, Cheng Q, Ehrnst A, Link H, de Pedro-Cuesta J
Acknowledgements
The authors are indebted to Curt-Lennart Spetz, Leif
Forsberg and Marie Berggren from the Swedish Center
for Epidemiology, the National Board of Health and
Welfare (Socialstyrelsen), for providing us with the
relevant registry data. We are grateful to nurses
(1997a). Guillain]Barre syndrome in Stockholm County.
Â
1973]91. Eur J Epidemiol 13:25]32.
Jiang G-X, Cheng Q, Link H, de Pedro-Cuesta J (1997b).
Epidemiological features of Guillain]Barre
Sweden. 1978]93. Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
2:447]453.
Jiang G-X, de Pedro-Cuesta J, Fredrikson S, Solders G
(1997c). Guillain]Barre syndrome in south-west
Â
syndrome in
J
6
È
Christina Charling (Department ofNeurology, Go te-
Ê
borg) and Ake Myr (Department ofNeurology, Kar-
olinska hospital) for help in notifying GBS patients,
Â
Stockholm. 1973]91, 2. Clinical epidemiology. Ital J
Neurol Sci 18:49]53.
Jiang G-X, Cheng Q, de Pedro-Cuesta J (1998). Basis for
È
and Dr Carl-Goran Sable (Department ofPaediatrics,
Boras) for confirming the diagnosis for four children.
Ê
public health surveillance ofGuillain ]Barre
Sweden. Eur J Public Health 8:197]202.
Kaplan JE, Poduska PJ, McIntosh GC, Hopkins RS,
Ferguson SW, Schonberger LB (1985). Guillain]Barre
Â
syndrome in
This study was supported by the Karolinska In-
stitute, the Swedish Multiple Sclerosis Society (NHR),
the Swedish Medical Research Council and the Carlos
III Institute ofHealth, Madrid.
Â
syndrome in Larimer County, Colorado: a high-incidence
area. Neurology 35:581]584.
Kennedy RH, Danielson MA, Mulder DW, Kurland LT
(
1978).
Guillain]Barre
Â
syndrome.
A
42-year
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