Ratio of women stricken with MS rockets by 50% each decade

Apr 29 2007

According to a study in the United States although women have always had a greater susceptibility for developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) than men, the numbers have rocketed in the last six decades.

The researchers say in 1940, two out of three with the condition were women but by 2000, that figure was four out of five.

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system.

MS can cause a variety of symptoms, including changes in sensation, visual problems, muscle weakness, depression, difficulties with coordination and speech, severe fatigue, cognitive impairment, problems with balance, overheating and pain.

MS will cause impaired mobility and disability in more severe cases.

MS is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults; it is an autoimmune condition - meaning the immune system mistakes the body's own tissue for an infectious foreign body, and attacks it.

Dr. Gary Cutter from the University of Alabama, the author of the study, says that increase in the ratio of women to men, represents nearly 50 percent per decade and it is unclear why more women are developing MS than men.

Dr. Cutter says more research is needed to explore the multiple changes that have occurred for women over the last few decades, such as the introduction of the 'Pill', earlier menstruation, higher obesity rates, changes in smoking habits, and later age of first births.

Cutter also says general questions need to be asked as to what it is that women do differently from men, such using hair dyes and cosmetics that may block vitamin D absorption.

Dr. Cutter's team examined a database of 30,336 MS victims and determined the male/female ratio according to the year the disease was diagnosed and the age of the person when the disease started.

They found the largest increase in the ratio has been for those whose MS started at younger ages.

The study used the database of the North American Research Committee On Multiple Sclerosis, or NARCOMS, hosted at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona and the research was supported by the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

The research was presented at the 59th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, in Boston.