ALS usually strikes in late middle age (the late 50s is average) or later, although it can occur in young adults as well as in very elderly people. Some forms of ALS have their onset in youth. Men prior to the age of 65 or 70 are slightly more likely to develop ALS than are women. In the US, 1 to 3 new cases of ALS per 100,000 people are diagnosed every year; this is believed to be the same worldwide. MDA partners with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote the National ALS Registry, the only national population-based registry in the U.S. that collects information to help scientists learn more about who gets ALS and what may cause it.