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MS Prevalence Most Common in White Individuals, Those in Northern US Latitudes
Non-Hispanic White people have the largest prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) of any racial or ethnic group in the United States, followed by non-Hispanic Black individuals, according to a population-based cohort study published in JAMA Neurology.
“Prevalence reflects the burden of disease in a population and is critical for clinical care, resource allocation, and policy decisions,” said lead author Michael Hittle, BS, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, and co-authors. “In the United States, MS has become more prevalent and demographically diverse.”
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Researchers used an algorithm to identify adult cases of MS between the years 2008 and 2010 from private, military, and public (Medicaid and Medicare) administrative health claims. Prevalence was determined in each data set and then categorized by age, sex, race, ethnicity, and geography.
Researchers identified 744,781 adults with MS, of which 76% (564,426) were women. The median age was 45 to 54 years. White people were the largest racial group, accounting for 577,725 cases (77%), followed by Black individuals with 80,276 cases (10%), and Hispanic people with 53,456 cases (7%). The highest MS prevalence was found in the 45- to 64-year age group, regardless of racial and ethnic classification. Geographically, MS prevalence increased with each latitude degree increase, indicating a higher prevalence in Northern states than in Southern states.
“Additional analyses are needed to examine climatological, demographic, infectious, and other factors that may contribute to this geographic variation.,” authors concluded.
Authors noted a lack of consistency in the coding of the administrative health claims that may contribute to limited study results. Additionally, “rates of utilization in health care systems are generally lower for Black and Hispanic patients, which may diminish the ability to identify people with MS as cases.”
