The Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis in 3 US Communities

Details

• Journal Article:
  Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD)
• Personal Author:
  Williamson, Dhelia M. ; Noonan, Curtis W. ; Henry, Judy P. ; Wagner, Laurie ; Indian, Robert ; Lynch, Sharon G. ; Neuberger, John S. ; Schiffer, Randolph ; Trottier, Janine ; Marrie, Ruth Ann
• Description:
  Introduction ; We estimated the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 3 large geographic areas in the southern, middle, and northern United States. ; Methods ; The primary data source was medical records from office visits to private neurologists' practices or to neurology departments in tertiary care facilities during a 3-year period. Additional data sources included patient advocacy groups, nursing homes, and general practitioners. ; Results ; Three-year US age-adjusted prevalence estimates for the study areas varied substantially. The prevalence was lowest (47.2 per 100,000 population) in the Texas study area (33°30′ north latitude), intermediate (86.3 per 100,000 population) in the Missouri study area (39°07′ north latitude), and highest (109.5 per 100,000 population) in the Ohio study area (41°24′ north latitude). The geographic differences remained strong after age-adjustment to the world standard population. The inverse association between UV light exposure and MS prevalence estimates was consistent with this observed latitude gradient. In all 3 areas, MS prevalence was highest among women, people aged 40 to 59 years, and non-Hispanics. ; Conclusion ; These results provide necessary prevalence estimates for community cluster investigations and establish baseline estimates for future studies to evaluate temporal trends in disease prevalence.
• Subjects:
  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Racial Groups
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Prevalence
• Source:
  Prev Chronic Dis. 7(1).
• ISSN:
  1545-1151
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/4168/cdc_4168_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 414.11 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Preventing Chronic Disease
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9c72973b13a0e9211c57a1d5e0ba20305c91334eb55d7d9c40d4eb4534cfd7b79af4c3aaac22c051527cce2f676be1607d9f558f375b7723ac8cc5393449b395