Objectives-Data from a sample of 2494 patients affected with Huntington's d
isease (HD), collected as part of the National Research Roster for Huntingt
on Disease Patients and Families, were examined to determine if there was a
relation between age at onset and duration of illness.
Methods-Sufficient data for inclusion in analysis was available from 2068 p
atients, of whom 828 were deceased and 1240 were living. The median duratio
n of disease was 21.4 years with a range of 1.2 to 40.8 years. Patients wer
e categorised into one of four groups based on their age at onset.
Results-Significant differences in duration based on the age at onset were
found (p<0.025), with juvenile and late onset patients with HD having short
er duration of illness compared with those with an onset between 20-49 year
s.
Conclusions-Duration of disease is influenced by the age at symptom onset w
ith juvenile and late onset patients having the shortest duration.