How many people in Germany suffer from ALS?

There are probably 6,000 to 8,000 people with ALS in Germany. This figure is an assumption based on the results of studies on the incidence of ALS in regional or international patient registers (e.g. the Swabian or Dutch ALS registers). The exact number of people affected in Germany is not known, as there is no nationwide ALS register to date. The study situation in the previous registers showed a frequency of 8-10 affected persons per 100,000 inhabitants. Assuming that the frequency distribution of ALS in the Swabian region or the Netherlands and Germany is largely the same, the figure of around 8,000 people affected can be assumed for a population of 83 million in our country.

The number of sufferers per 100,000 inhabitants is referred to as ALS prevalence. This is to be distinguished from the ALS incidence. This figure describes the number of new cases per year per 100,000 inhabitants. In the case of ALS, it is assumed that there are around 1.5-2 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This means that there are 1,200-1,600 new cases per year in Germany. This figure also corresponds to the number of annual deaths due to ALS in Germany.