Higher latitude is significantly associated with an earlier age of disease onset in multiple sclerosis

C Tao; S Simpson; I Van Der Mei; L Blizzard; E Havrdova; D Horakova; V Shaygannejad; A Lugaresi; G Izquierdo; M Trojano; P Duquette; M Girard; F Grand'Maison; P Grammond; R Alroughani; M Terzi; C Oreja-Guevara; SA Sajedi; G Iuliano; P Sola; J Lechner-Scott; V Van Pesch; E Pucci; R Bergamaschi; M Barnett; C Ramo; B Singhal; DLA Spitaleri; M Slee; F Verheul; R Fernández Bolaños; MP Amato; E Cristiano; F Granella; S Hodgkinson; M Fiol; O Gray; P McCombe; ML Saladino; JL Sánchez Menoyo; N Shuey; S Vucic; C Shaw; N Deri; WO Arruda; H Butzkueven; T Spelman; BV Taylor

Journal article

Higher latitude is significantly associated with an earlier age of disease onset in multiple sclerosis

C Tao, S Simpson, I Van Der Mei, L Blizzard, E Havrdova, D Horakova, V Shaygannejad, A Lugaresi, G Izquierdo, M Trojano, P Duquette, M Girard, F Grand'Maison, P Grammond, R Alroughani, M Terzi, C Oreja-Guevara, SA Sajedi, G Iuliano, P Sola Show all

Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry | Published : 2016

DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2016-314013

Abstract

Background: Age at onset (AAO) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is an important marker of disease severity and may have prognostic significance. Understanding what factors can influence AAO may shed light on the aetiology of this complex disease, and have applications in the diagnostic process. Methods: The study cohort of 22 162 eligible patients from 21 countries was extracted from the MSBase registry. Only patients with MS aged ≥16 years were included. To reduce heterogeneity, only centres of largely European descent were included for analysis. AAO was defined as the year of the first symptom suggestive of inflammatory central nervous system demyelination. Predictors of AAO were evaluated by li..

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