This week for my MS post I am going to post some facts that I found about the disease.

Facts about Multiple Sclerosis

General Information about Multiple Sclerosis

  •  First Diagnosed in 1849
  • The earliest known description of a person with possible Multiple Sclerosis dates from 14th century Holland
  • Multiple Sclerosis is the most common progressive and disabling neurological condition in young adults
  • Approx 2.5 million people worldwide, have Multiple Sclerosis
  • Around 400,000 people in the United States have Multiple Sclerosis
  • In the UK, approx 70,000 people have the disease
  • Approx 50,000 people in Canada have Multiple Sclerosis
  • Scotland has the highest incidence of Multiple Sclerosis per head of population in the world
  • In Scotland, over 10,500 people have Multiple Sclerosis
  • No virus has ever been isolated as the cause of Multiple Sclerosis
  • Average age of clinical onset is 30 – 33 years of age
  • The average age of diagnosis is 37 years of age
  • The average time between clinical onset of MS and diagnosis by physicians is 4 – 5 years
  • 10% of cases are diagnosed after the age of fifty
  • In 1936, only 8% of patients were reported to survive beyond 20 years after onset of illness
  • In 1961, over 80% of Multiple Sclerosis patients were reported surviving to 20 years after onset of illness
  • 2002 – A patient with Multiple Sclerosis can expect to live to average population life-expectancy minus seven years (mean life expectancy – 7 years)
  • Multiple Sclerosis is five times more prevalent in temperate climates than in tropical climates
  • Multiple Sclerosis affects women much more frequently than men. Approx. 1.7 – 2:1 in the US and approx 3:2 in the UK
  • The ratio of white to non-white is approx 2:1
  • Gypsies and Inuit’s do get Multiple Sclerosis although the incidence rate is much lower than other populations at approx 19 per 100,000
  • Native Indians of North and South America, the Japanese and other Asian peoples have a very low incidence rate of Multiple Sclerosis
  • In identical twins where one twin develops the disease, the likelihood of the second twin developing Multiple Sclerosis is approx 30%
  • The incidence rate for non-identical twins, where one contracts Multiple Sclerosis, is approx 4%
  • The risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis if a first-degree relative (father, mother, sibling) has the disease, is approx 1% – 3% overall
  • The risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis if your father has the disease is approx 1 in 100
  • The risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis if your mother has the disease is approx 1 in 50
  • The risk among the general population of contracting Multiple Sclerosis is approx 1 in 800

Sources:
http://www.themcfox.com/multiple-sclerosis/ms-facts/multiple-sclerosis-facts.htm

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15 Comments on Some Interessting Facts

  6. Interesting facts. I have cousins (brother and sister) that both have MS – no one else in the family has been diagnosed with it.

    Thank you for hoping aboard the Tuesday Train!! See you again next week!

    Reply

  8. The more information that's out there the better. Great post. Hello, I'm here from the Tuesday blog hop and your newest follower. I hope you'll come visit and follow me too. It's always good having a new blogging friend, right? Thanks!

    Reply

  12. I know several people with MS and did not know a lot of these facts. Thank you for sharing them.
    I am a new visitor and follower via make Friends Monday…on Tuesday!

    Reply

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