MS Now Striking Women Much More Often Than Men

Growing disparity may give clues to underlying causes, research suggests

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
Friday, April 27, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

FRIDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) -- Although women have typically been much more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis than men, that gap has widened significantly in the past 60 years, new research shows.

"We saw a marked increase in the number of women diagnosed compared to men. It started at two-to-one and is now four-to-one," said study author Gary Cutter, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.

The finding, said Cutter, "gives us clues to the etiology of the disease, and researchers can look for things that affect females more than male."

Some of those factors might be the use of birth control pills, earlier menstruation, rising rates of obesity, more women smoking, and later ages at first pregnancies.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. Symptoms of the disease vary widely from person to person, and may include fatigue, dizziness, pain, vision problems, difficulty walking and bladder or bowel dysfunction, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

About 400,000 people in the United States have multiple sclerosis, and worldwide, the disease affects about 2.5 million people, according to the society. The disorder is generally first diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 50.

For the current study, Cutter and his colleagues gathered data from a large database called the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS), which includes information on almost 31,000 people with multiple sclerosis. Each volunteer provided semi-annual information regarding demographic and clinical information about their disease.

Almost three-quarters of the study population were female and 93 percent were white.

The researchers found that the ratio of women-to-men having the disease increased by about 50 percent each decade. The changes were more pronounced in people diagnosed at earlier ages, according to the researchers.

Cutter is expected to present his findings Tuesday at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Boston.