A Predictive Model and Survival Analysis for Tube Feeding in ALS Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study in a Chinese ALS Clinic

Table 5

Factors associated with the ALS patient’s survival in univariate and multivariate analysis with the Cox regression analysis ().

Variables	cHR (95% CI)	value	aHR (95% CI)	value
Sex	2.92 (1.21-7.01)	0.02	3.74 (1.34-10.44)	0.01
Time to diagnose (m)	0.95 (0.9-1.01)	0.1	0.96 (0.89-1.04)	0.32
Weight loss (%)^a	2.66 (1.06-6.69)	0.04	0.68 (0.15-3.11)	0.62
Weight loss at baseline (kg)^a	1.07 (1.02-1.13)	0.01	1.06 (0.94-1.19)	0.36
BMI (kg/m^2)^a	0.9 (0.8-1)	0.06	0.86 (0.72-1.03)	0.1
Bulbar onset	2.08 (0.95-4.55)	0.07	4.89 (1.07-22.36)	0.04
Bulbar score^a	0.91 (0.83-1)	0.05	1.13 (0.9-1.41)	0.3
Fine motor score^a	1.1 (0.99-1.22)	0.07	1.25 (1.06-1.48)	0.01
ALSFRS-R slope^a	5.19 (2.84-9.48)	<0.001	9.2 (3.74-22.64)	<0.001
Depression^a	16.84 (1.88-150.68)	0.01	10.53 (0.69-160.85)	0.09
History of ischemic stroke	14.61 (3.68-58.05)	<0.001	6.34 (1.27-31.63)	0.03

Factors associated with survival with value lower than 0.1 using the univariate Cox regression were enrolled in the multivariate Cox regression analysis. Male gender, high ALSFRS-R slope, high fine motor score, history of ischemic stroke, and bulbar onset were identified as independent risk factors of death using the multivariate Cox regression. Note: ALSFRS-R: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale revised; BMI: body mass index; aHR: adjusted hazard ratio; cHR: crude hazard ratio; y: year; m: month; kg: kilogram; 95% CI: 95% confidence interval; a: at baseline. In bold: value < 0.05.