TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal changes in the incidence of transient global amnesia
AU - Keret, Ophir
AU - Lev, Nirit
AU - Shochat, Tzippy
AU - Steiner, Israel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Korean Neurological Association.
PY - 2016/10
Y1 - 2016/10
N2 - Background and Purpose Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a stereotypic condition characterized by anterograde and retrograde amnesia that typically resolves within 24 hours. The pathophysiology of TGA is still unclear. We noted that patients hospitalized with TGA tend to appear in seasonal clusters, and decided to investigate this phenomenon. Methods Every patient with acute presentation of amnesia at our medical center is hospitalized for observation and evaluation. We reviewed the monthly occurrence of TGA in our patient population between 2000 and 2014, and compared this to non-TGA hospitalizations during the same time period. Results During the analysis period, 154 patients who met the criteria for TGA were hospitalized, as well as 259,007 non-TGA hospitalizations. The annual occurrence of TGA ranged from 5 to 16 hospitalizations. There were 91 TGA events in women and 63 in men, in subjects aged 62.8±10.6 years (mean±SD). The incidence was maximal during December [odds ratio (OR)=2.83, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.20–6.67] and March (OR=2.77, 95% CI=1.17–6.56), and minimal from April to August. The incidence exhibited an increase followed by a decrease from October to February. A seasonal trend was observed as well, with incidence peaks occurring in winter (OR=1.82, 95% CI=1.12–2.96) and spring (OR=1.80, 95% CI=1.10–2.94). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the incidence of TGA exhibits seasonal variations. This observation may help to improve the understanding of the pathophysiology underlying TGA.
AB - Background and Purpose Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a stereotypic condition characterized by anterograde and retrograde amnesia that typically resolves within 24 hours. The pathophysiology of TGA is still unclear. We noted that patients hospitalized with TGA tend to appear in seasonal clusters, and decided to investigate this phenomenon. Methods Every patient with acute presentation of amnesia at our medical center is hospitalized for observation and evaluation. We reviewed the monthly occurrence of TGA in our patient population between 2000 and 2014, and compared this to non-TGA hospitalizations during the same time period. Results During the analysis period, 154 patients who met the criteria for TGA were hospitalized, as well as 259,007 non-TGA hospitalizations. The annual occurrence of TGA ranged from 5 to 16 hospitalizations. There were 91 TGA events in women and 63 in men, in subjects aged 62.8±10.6 years (mean±SD). The incidence was maximal during December [odds ratio (OR)=2.83, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.20–6.67] and March (OR=2.77, 95% CI=1.17–6.56), and minimal from April to August. The incidence exhibited an increase followed by a decrease from October to February. A seasonal trend was observed as well, with incidence peaks occurring in winter (OR=1.82, 95% CI=1.12–2.96) and spring (OR=1.80, 95% CI=1.10–2.94). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the incidence of TGA exhibits seasonal variations. This observation may help to improve the understanding of the pathophysiology underlying TGA.
KW - Amnesia
KW - Incidence
KW - Seasonality
KW - Transient global amnesia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84991444207&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3988/jcn.2016.12.4.403
DO - 10.3988/jcn.2016.12.4.403
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AN - SCOPUS:84991444207
SN - 1738-6586
VL - 12
SP - 403
EP - 406
JO - Journal of Clinical Neurology (Korea)
JF - Journal of Clinical Neurology (Korea)
IS - 4
ER -