Geographic distribution of MS in New Zealand: evidence from hospital admissions and deaths.

We studied the occurrence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in residents of all regions of New Zealand by analyzing first hospital admissions and deaths. Maoris had a much lower proportion of first admissions and deaths than the proportion of Maoris in the general population. For non-Maoris, both first hospital admission and mortality rates increased steadily from the northern part of the country to the south, with one possible exception.