Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 2003 Jan;74(1):29–32. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.74.1.29

Incidence (1988–97) and prevalence (1997) of multiple sclerosis in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden

P Sundstrom 1, L Nystrom 1, L Forsgren 1
PMCID: PMC1738162  PMID: 12486262

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the incidence and prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden.

Methods: Multiple sources were used in the case identification process. Follow up interviews with clinical examinations were undertaken and, when indicated, additional paraclinical investigations were done. In this way case ascertainment was assured and supplemental clinical data were collected. The incidence rate was based on symptom onset. Onset adjusted prevalence was applied.

Results: The crude incidence rate of multiple sclerosis in 1988–97 in Västerbotten County was 5.2/105 (95% confidence interval, 4.4 to 6.2): 6.7/105 (6.0 to 8.3) in women and 3.7/105 (2.7 to 4.9) in men. The onset adjusted prevalence for 31 December 1997 was 154/105 (139 to 170): 202/105 (179 to 228) in women and 105/105 (89 to 125) in men. When compared with a previous estimate of prevalence, a yearly 2.6% increase in prevalence between 1990 and 1997 was found, mainly attributable to a higher incidence than mortality.

Conclusions: The present incidence rate and prevalence confirms earlier findings that Västerbotten is a high risk area for multiple sclerosis. The adjusted incidence was twice as high as the incidence from 1974–88 in the only previous Swedish population based study from Göteborg, but comparable with other recent Fennoscandian multiple sclerosis incidence rates.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (140.5 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Celius E. G., Vandvik B. Multiple sclerosis in Oslo, Norway: prevalence on 1 January 1995 and incidence over a 25-year period. Eur J Neurol. 2001 Sep;8(5):463–469. doi: 10.1046/j.1468-1331.2001.00269.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Edland A., Nyland H., Riise T., Larsen J. P. Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in the county of Vestfold, eastern Norway: incidence and prevalence calculations. Acta Neurol Scand. 1996 Feb-Mar;93(2-3):104–109. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1996.tb00183.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Grønlie S. A., Myrvoll E., Hansen G., Grønning M., Mellgren S. I. Multiple sclerosis in North Norway, and first appearance in an indigenous population. J Neurol. 2000 Feb;247(2):129–133. doi: 10.1007/pl00007793. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Grønning M., Riise T., Kvåle G., Nyland H., Larsen J. P., Aarli J. A. Incidence of multiple sclerosis in Hordaland, western Norway: a fluctuating pattern. Neuroepidemiology. 1991;10(2):53–61. doi: 10.1159/000110247. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Koch-Henriksen N. Multiple sclerosis in Scandinavia and Finland. Acta Neurol Scand Suppl. 1995;161:55–59. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1995.tb05858.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Koch-Henriksen N. The Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry: a 50-year follow-up. Mult Scler. 1999 Aug;5(4):293–296. doi: 10.1177/135245859900500418. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Midgard R., Riise T., Svanes C., Kvåle G., Nyland H. Incidence of multiple sclerosis in Møre and Romsdal, Norway from 1950 to 1991. An age-period-cohort analysis. Brain. 1996 Feb;119(Pt 1):203–211. doi: 10.1093/brain/119.1.203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Poser C. M. Onset symptoms of multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1995 Feb;58(2):253–254. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.58.2.253-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Poser C. M., Paty D. W., Scheinberg L., McDonald W. I., Davis F. A., Ebers G. C., Johnson K. P., Sibley W. A., Silberberg D. H., Tourtellotte W. W. New diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: guidelines for research protocols. Ann Neurol. 1983 Mar;13(3):227–231. doi: 10.1002/ana.410130302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sumelahti M. L., Tienari P. J., Wikström J., Palo J., Hakama M. Regional and temporal variation in the incidence of multiple sclerosis in Finland 1979-1993. Neuroepidemiology. 2000 Mar-Apr;19(2):67–75. doi: 10.1159/000026241. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sundström P., Nyström L., Forsgren L. Prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Acta Neurol Scand. 2001 Apr;103(4):214–218. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Svenningsson A., Runmarker B., Lycke J., Andersen O. Incidence of MS during two fifteen-year periods in the Gothenburg region of Sweden. Acta Neurol Scand. 1990 Sep;82(3):161–168. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1990.tb04483.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES