Contribution of geolocalisation to neuroepidemiological studies: incidence of ALS and environmental factors in Limousin, France.

Farid Boumédiène (1, 2) , Michel Druet-Cabanac (2, 3) , Benoît Marin (2, 4, 5) , Pierre-Marie Preux (2, 4, 5) , Philippe Allée (1) , Philippe Couratier (2, 6)

1 GEOLAB - Laboratoire de Géographie Physique et Environnementale
2 NETEC - Neuroépidémiologie Tropicale et Comparée
3 Service de Santé au Travail [CHU Limoges]
4 SIME - Service de l'Information Médicale et de l'Évaluation [CHU Limoges]
5 Laboratoire de Biostatistique et d'Informatique Médicale
6 Service de Neurologie [CHU Limoges]

This article aimed to detect clusters of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their relationships with exposure of the population to various environmental factors in the Limousin region of France. Methods used were extensively described. We adopted a geographical approach that revealed variations in the incidence of ALS and permitted us to identify three regional clusters and their spatial spread. We considered environmental factors and the potent locations or source of substances or activities hypothesized to be associated with ALS. Notably, we determined which industrial activities seem to affect the incidence of ALS in Limousin. The results were interpreted at a regional level. Among the 50 factors this article considered, paper paste and water treatment plants were particularly geostatistically significant and deserve special attention in the ongoing investigations into high resolution spatial clusters (geographical and epidemiological studies).

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Farid Boumédiène, Michel Druet-Cabanac, Benoît Marin, Pierre-Marie Preux, Philippe Allée, et al.. Contribution of geolocalisation to neuroepidemiological studies: incidence of ALS and environmental factors in Limousin, France.. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 2011, 309 (1-2), pp.115-122. ⟨10.1016/j.jns.2011.07.002⟩. ⟨hal-00675730⟩