Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a complex trait that appears to be determined by both genetic and environmental factors. It is a neurological disorder with a highly characteristics disease distribution.

It exhibits a changing incidence over time in an uneven geographic distribution. Multiple sclerosis affects about 350,000 people in the United States and about 1.1 million people throughout the world.

The most important risk factor for multiple sclerosis is being a woman, which is reflected in the increasing incidence of multiple sclerosis in women. There is a complex interaction between gender and inheritance of multiple sclerosis, leading to a parent-of-origin effect highly suspicious for an epigenetic of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is 20 to 40 times more common in first degree relatives and drops off rapidly with more distant relationships. The incidence of multiple sclerosis is not increased in adopted relatives of multiple sclerosis patients.

High risk areas of multiple sclerosis include northern and central Europe, Italy, northern United States, Canada, southeastern Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the former Soviet Union, with rates greater than30 per 100,000 populations.
Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis