Neurological Sciences
Volume 37, Issue 11, 2016, Pages 1759-1763

Prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Iranian emigrants: review of the evidence (Review)

Nasr Z.* , Majed M. , Rostami A. , Sahraian M.A. , Minagar A. , Amini A. , McGee J.C. , Etemadifar M.
  • a Isfahan Research Committee of Multiple Sclerosis, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, Medical Students’ Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
  • b Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
  • c Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
  • d Department of Neurology and MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • e Department of Neurology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71130, United States
  • f Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • g Department of Neurology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71130, United States
  • h Isfahan Research Committee of Multiple Sclerosis, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Iran has the highest prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Middle East and Asia. Rate of emigration has been significantly raised among Iranians and though, multiple studies have been published on prevalence of MS among Iranian emigrants. Here we systematically reviewed these publications. We performed a comprehensive literature search was performed on April 30, 2015 in data bases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus and Google Scholar for the terms ‘multiple sclerosis’, ‘incidence’, ‘prevalence’, ‘epidemiology’, ‘migration’, ‘emigrant’, ‘immigrant’, ‘Iran’, ‘Parsis’ and ‘Persian’. Study location, prevalence day or period, and age of at disease onset were recorded for all the included publications. Nine publications from Sweden, Canada, Norway, UK, and India were included. Only three reported age-adjusted prevalence and six reported age of disease onset. MS prevalence among Iranian emigrants varied from 21 per 100,000 people in Bombay, India in 1985 to 433 per 100,000 people in British Columbia, Canada in 2012. Five studies reported the prevalence in the region of interest, ranging from 1.33 in Bombay, India to 240 in British Columbia, Canada. Five studies also reported the prevalence of MS in the population of the destination country, and in all of them, the prevalence of MS was higher in Iranian immigrants compared to native people. Prevalence studies performed in Iran and also on Iranian emigrants indicate roles for both genetic and environmental factors in MS susceptibility. Data might indicate that living in a high-risk area increases the susceptibility to MS. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Italia.

Author Keywords

Immigrant multiple sclerosis Epidemiology Risk

Index Keywords

immigrant emigrant multiple sclerosis India Norway indigenous people London Iranian people human statistics and numerical data ethnology Iran Sweden Humans migrant Emigrants and Immigrants England environmental factor Review prevalence heredity disease predisposition systematic review British Columbia
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84976389231&doi=10.1007%2fs10072-016-2641-7&partnerID=40&md5=01e7f004f87d0774d37e9f3405200dd9
DOI: 10.1007/s10072-016-2641-7
ISSN: 15901874
Cited by: 9
Original Language: English