The Incidence and Etiologies of Third Cranial Nerve Palsy in Koreans: A 10-year Nationwide Cohort Study
Eun Hye Jung, Seong-Joon Kim, Joo Yeon Lee, Bum‐Joo Cho
Abstract
PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the incidence, prevalence, and etiologies of third cranial nerve (CN3) palsy in Koreans. METHODS: Data were collected from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) database of South Korea and analyzed. Incident CN3 palsy subjects in the cohort population were defined as cases occurring after the initial 4-year or longer washout period. The incidence and prevalence were analyzed by sex, age group, and year. The etiologies of CN3 palsy were evaluated using comorbidities. RESULTS: Of 1,108,253 subjects, 387 patients were newly diagnosed with CN3 palsy between 2006 and 2015. The incidence of CN3 palsy was 3.71 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 3.35-4.09). The incidence of CN3 palsy increased with age and accelerated after the age of 60 years. The mean male-to-female incidence ratio was 1.16. The main cause was presumed to be vascular disease (52.7%), followed by idiopathic causes (25.8%), intracranial neoplasm (7.8%), unruptured cerebral aneurysm (5.4%), and trauma (5.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CN3 palsy in Koreans increased with age and peaked between 75 and 79 years. The main cause of CN3 palsy was vascular disease.