Characteristics of multiple sclerosis in aboriginals living in British Columbia, Canada

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to identify and describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) in aboriginals in British Columbia (BC), Canada and compare these findings with non-aboriginal MS patients. Methods: This retrospective chart and database re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Multiple sclerosis 2012-09, Vol.18 (9), p.1239-1243
Main Authors: Saeedi, Jameelah, Rieckmann, Peter, Yee, Irene, Tremlett, Helen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age of Onset
American Native Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data
Biological and medical sciences
British Columbia - epidemiology
Chi-Square Distribution
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Disability Evaluation
Disease Progression
Female
Humans
Immunologic Factors - therapeutic use
Kaplan-Meier Estimate
Male
Medical sciences
Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis
Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive - diagnosis
Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive - drug therapy
Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive - ethnology
Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive - mortality
Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - diagnosis
Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - drug therapy
Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - ethnology
Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - mortality
Neurology
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index
Time Factors
Young Adult
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Summary:Objectives: The objectives of this study were to identify and describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) in aboriginals in British Columbia (BC), Canada and compare these findings with non-aboriginal MS patients. Methods: This retrospective chart and database review accessed patient information from the linked BC-wide MS clinical and genetics databases. Data gathered included: demographics (age, sex and ethnicity); clinical characteristics (MS onset date, disease course and disability scores (Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS]). Aboriginals were identified via the database linkage augmented by physician and nurse recall. Two non-aboriginal comparator groups with definite MS were selected. Group one included all definite MS patients in the BC MS database, and group two comprised MS patients matched by sex, age at onset and initial disease course. Patient characteristics were compared using the Student’s t-test, chi-squared test, and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to examine disease progression (time to sustained and confirmed EDSS 6) Results: We identified 26 aboriginals with MS, of which 19/26 (73%) were female, 23/26 (89%) had relapsing-onset MS and a mean onset age of 31.1 years. There were no significant differences between the MS aboriginals and the non-matched (n = 5708) comparator group with respect to age, sex or disease course (p > 0.1), However, aboriginals progressed more rapidly to EDSS 6 from disease onset (p < 0.001) when compared with the matched and unmatched comparator groups. Conclusion: We identified a small, but important cohort of aboriginals with MS; being the largest identified to date. There was evidence of more rapid MS progression in aboriginals compared with non-aboriginals.
ISSN:1352-4585
1477-0970
DOI:10.1177/1352458512436595