Muscle disease: the impact
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has produced a vital report indicating the number of people in the UK affected by muscle disease.
The document, Muscle disease: the impact updates the number of babies, children and adults affected by muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular conditions in the UK to around 70,000.
Co-authored by the charity's Director of Research, Dr Marita Pohlschmidt, and Acting Chief Executive and Director of Policy and Operations, Robert Meadowcroft, the report is the first to compile existing data on the number of people with neuromuscular conditions, both from published studies and from data supplied by leading clinicians in the field, in one document.
The report's key findings include:
- More than 70,000 children and adults in the UK have a type of muscle disease or related condition supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.
- The severity of the muscle conditions varies enormously - for the most severe disorders children can die at birth or in their first year of life while the mildest forms only slightly affect elderly people and have no life limiting impact
- About 70% of all people with conditions supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign are affected by muscle diseases that are inherited and about 30% by acquired muscle diseases.
