NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For years doctors have assumed black people are less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) than whites, but a new study suggests the opposite may be true.
Researchers found black women were more likely than white women to be diagnosed with MS, in which the protective coating around nerve fibers breaks down, slowing signals traveling between the brain and body. Among men, there was no difference.
"The thing I was taught in medical school is that this is a disease primarily of white people," said Dr. Annette Langer-Gould, who led the new study at Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Los Angeles.
But most of that older data came from potentially unrepresentative research, she said, such as a study of veterans from the 1950s that found white men were twice as likely to get MS as black men. What's more, she pointed out, most MS clinics are in predominantly white areas - skewing how people perceive the disease.
The new report, Langer-Gould said, is the first to look at a group of patients representative of a large population.
She and her colleagues analyzed three years' worth of medical records for the 3.5 million patients in the Kaiser Permanente health system. During that time, 496 were diagnosed with MS.
The researchers found that over an average year, 10 out of every 100,000 blacks developed the disease, compared to 7 white patients, 3 Hispanics and just over 1 Asian per 100,000.
More than two-thirds of all MS diagnoses were in women, and that gender gap was particularly strong among blacks, Langer-Gould and her colleagues reported Monday in Neurology.
She said it's still not clear why the frequency of the disease varies by race, although her team is doing a follow-up study to try to answer that question.
Up to 25 percent of an individual's risk for MS is thought to be due to genes, Langer-Gould said - but the rest likely has to do with everything from environmental influences, such as smoking, to vitamin D and hormone levels.
Langer-Gould's group cannot say whether past research truly underestimated how often blacks develop MS, or whether the rates in the new study represent a more recent rise in cases.
The new study "very strongly implies that the rate has really gone up in blacks," said Dr. George Ebers, a neurologist who studies MS at John Radcliffe Hospital at theUniversity of Oxford in the UK but wasn't involved in the new research.
"This may be the conjunction of the Western lifestyle, whatever that is … plus the fact that they're living in the relatively northern section of the world," where there's less vitamin D from sunlight, for example, Ebers told Reuters Health.
If there has been an increase in blacks' risk, he said it would have to be due to the environment - since genes wouldn't change that much over a couple of generations.
MS symptoms typically start with numbness and tingling from the waist down or weakness on one side of the body - such as after a stroke. Because of the notion that they're at lower risk, many black patients are initially misdiagnosed, Langer-Gould said.
"This is a disease that affects all racial and ethnic groups," the researcher told Reuters Health.
"If somebody comes in with symptoms that are suspicious for it, particularly blacks, those symptoms should be taken seriously and worked up and not assumed that it can't possibly be MS because they're the wrong race or ethnicity."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/Q5TNl Neurology, online May 6, 2013.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.