@article{f916a682f9164bbdb578446b4302e8dd,
title = "A cohort study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia on Guam and rota",
abstract = "A prospective study of the incidence of new cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia was conducted by follow-up of 899 Cha-morros in the Mariana Islands who participated in a baseline medical examination and interview in 1968. During a 15-year follow-up period, 28 new neurologically confirmed cases occurred, including 23 with parkinsonism-dementia and five with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The low incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was consistent with the reported disappearance of this disease from the Mariana Islands. However, the continuing high incidence of parkinsonism-dementia was not in agreement with a similarly reported disappearance nor with the hypothesis of a common cause of both diseases. Of 23 selected baseline examination variables, only the preference for traditional Chamorro food was significantly associated with an increased risk of parkinsonism-dementia. A review of the accumulated epidemiologic data on these neurologic diseases in the Mariana Islands did not support the current hypothesis that a chronic nutritional deficiency of calcium is a cause of both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia.",
keywords = "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Calcium, Diet, Parkinson disease",
author = "Dwayne Reed and Darwin Labarthe and Chen, {Kuang Ming} and Reuel Stallones",
note = "Funding Information: Neurological Diseases, Stroke, and Blindness Contract PH-43-68-36, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Contract N01, HV-02901, and a personal service grant from the University of Texas, School of Public Health, Houston, TX. The authors wish to acknowledge the help of Dr. Jacob Brody, who worked on the design of the original survey, Dr. Edward Brink and Dr. Thomas Henson, who provided additional neurologic consultation, and Jose Torres and Francisco Leon-Guerrero of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke Research Center on Guam for their help and support during this study. Funding Information: Received for publication September 3, 1985, and in final form April 25, 1986. 1Honolulu Heart Program, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 347 North Kuakini Street, Honolulu, HI 96817. (Reprint requests to Dr. Dwayne Reed.) 2School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston, TX. 3National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke Research Center, Agana, Guam. Presently at Guam Memorial Hospital, Agana, Guam. * Deceased. This study was supported by National Institute of",
year = "1987",
month = jan,
doi = "10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114515",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "125",
pages = "92--100",
journal = "American journal of epidemiology",
issn = "0002-9262",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "1",
}