According to the doctors in one of these studies, the expected outcome for SMA syndrome treatment is generally considered to be excellent. Epidemiology
According to a 1956 study, only 0.3% of patients referred for an upper-gastrointestinal-tract barium studies fit this diagnosis, and is thus a rare disease. Recognition of SMA syndrome as a distinct clinical entity is controversial, due in part to its possible confusion with a number of other conditions, though it is now widely acknowledged. However, unfamiliarity with this condition in the medical community coupled with its intermittent and nonspecific symptomatology probably results in its underdiagnosis.As the syndrome involves a lack of essential fat, more than half of those diagnosed are underweight, sometimes to the point of sickliness and emaciation. Females are impacted more often than males, and while the syndrome can occur at any age, it is most frequently diagnosed in early adulthood. The most common co-morbid conditions include mental and behavioral disorders including eating disorders and depression, infectious diseases including tuberculosis and acute gastroenteritis, and nervous system diseases including muscular dystrophy, Parkinsons disease, and cerebral palsy. History
SMA syndrome was first described in 1861 by Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky in victims at autopsy, but remained pathologically undefined until 1927 when Wilkie published the first comprehensive series of 75 patients. Society and culture
American actor, director, producer, and writer Christopher Reeve had the acute form of SMA syndrome as a result of spinal cord injury. Non-profit
In 2017 the only US non-profit began distributing grants to those with SMAS.
The combination of usual clinical care and support with return to work (like working less hours or changing tasks) probably reduces sick leave by 15%, and leads to fewer depressive symptoms and improved work capacity, reducing sick leave by an annual average of 25 days per year. Helping depressed people return to work without a connection to clinical care has not been shown to have an effect on sick leave days. Additional psychological interventions (such as online cognitive behavioral therapy) lead to fewer sick days compared to standard management only. Streamlining care or adding specific providers for depression care may help to reduce sick leave. Life expectancy and the risk of suicide
Depressed individuals have a shorter life expectancy than those without depression, in part because people who are depressed are at risk of dying of suicide. About 50% of people who die of suicide have a mood disorder such as major depression, and the risk is especially high if a person has a marked sense of hopelessness or has both depression and borderline personality disorder. About 2–8% of adults with major depression die by suicide. In the US, the lifetime risk of suicide associated with a diagnosis of major depression is estimated at 7% for men and 1% for women, even though suicide attempts are more frequent in women.Depressed people have a higher rate of dying from other causes.