Figure 2

Comparison of patients with weight loss with/without dysphagia and patients without weight loss. Patients with weight loss and dysphagia differed significantly from patients without weight loss in BDI and ALSFRS_R (total and bulbar). Patients with weight loss without dysphagia, on the other hand, did not have higher BDI/ lower ALSFRS_R scores than patients without weight loss (A). Weight loss in patients without dysphagia therefore does not seem to be directly related to a more advanced disease stage or increased depression. Patients with weight loss and dysphagia significantly more often declared increased respiratory work than patients without weight loss. Patients with weight loss without dysphagia showed a tendency towards increased respiratory work compared to patients without weight loss (p = 0.12). There were no differences regarding frequency of fasciculations between the groups (B). Follow-up by telephone two years after the initial survey highlighted the prognostic value of weight loss: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for ALS patients with and without weight loss revealed significantly shorter survival of ALS patients with weight loss (log rank p = 0.001) (C).