BACKGROUND: The prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) is not uniform, with a latitudinal gradient of prevalence present in most studies. Understanding the drivers of this gradient may allow a better understanding of the environmental factors involved in MS pathogenesis. METHOD: The New Zealand national MS prevalence study (NZMSPS) is a cross-sectional study of people with definite MS (DMS) (McDonald criteria 2005) resident in New Zealand on census night, 7 March 2006, utilizing multiple sources of notification. Capture-recapture analysis (CRA) was used to estimate missing cases. RESULTS: Of 2917 people with DMS identified, the crude prevalence was 72.4 per 100,000 population, and 73.1 per 100,000 when age-standardized to the European population. CRA estimated that 96.7% of cases were identified. A latitudinal gradient was seen with MS prevalence increasing three-fold from the North (35°S) to the South (48°S). The gradient was non-uniform; females with relapsing-remitting/secondary-progressive (RRMS/SPMS) disease have a gradient 11 times greater than males with primary-progressive MS (p < 1 × 10(-7)). DMS was significantly less common among those of Māori ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the presence of a robust latitudinal gradient of MS prevalence in New Zealand. This gradient is largely driven by European females with the RRMS/SPMS phenotype. These results indicate that the environmental factors that underlie the latitudinal gradient act differentially by gender, ethnicity and MS phenotype. A better understanding of these factors may allow more targeted MS therapies aimed at modifiable environmental triggers at the population level.
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) is not uniform, with a latitudinal gradient of prevalence present in most studies. Understanding the drivers of this gradient may allow a better understanding of the environmental factors involved in MS pathogenesis. METHOD: The New Zealand national MS prevalence study (NZMSPS) is a cross-sectional study of people with definite MS (DMS) (McDonald criteria 2005) resident in New Zealand on census night, 7 March 2006, utilizing multiple sources of notification. Capture-recapture analysis (CRA) was used to estimate missing cases. RESULTS: Of 2917 people with DMS identified, the crude prevalence was 72.4 per 100,000 population, and 73.1 per 100,000 when age-standardized to the European population. CRA estimated that 96.7% of cases were identified. A latitudinal gradient was seen with MS prevalence increasing three-fold from the North (35°S) to the South (48°S). The gradient was non-uniform; females with relapsing-remitting/secondary-progressive (RRMS/SPMS) disease have a gradient 11 times greater than males with primary-progressive MS (p < 1 × 10(-7)). DMS was significantly less common among those of Māori ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the presence of a robust latitudinal gradient of MS prevalence in New Zealand. This gradient is largely driven by European females with the RRMS/SPMS phenotype. These results indicate that the environmental factors that underlie the latitudinal gradient act differentially by gender, ethnicity and MS phenotype. A better understanding of these factors may allow more targeted MS therapies aimed at modifiable environmental triggers at the population level.
Authors: Maria Trojano; Guglielmo Lucchese; Giusi Graziano; Bruce V Taylor; Steve Simpson; Vito Lepore; Francois Grand'maison; Pierre Duquette; Guillermo Izquierdo; Pierre Grammond; Maria Pia Amato; Roberto Bergamaschi; Giorgio Giuliani; Cavit Boz; Raymond Hupperts; Vincent Van Pesch; Jeannette Lechner-Scott; Edgardo Cristiano; Marcela Fiol; Celia Oreja-Guevara; Maria Laura Saladino; Freek Verheul; Mark Slee; Damiano Paolicelli; Carla Tortorella; Mariangela D'Onghia; Pietro Iaffaldano; Vita Direnzo; Helmut Butzkueven Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-10-25 Impact factor: 3.240