Journal article
Geographical Variations in Sex Ratio Trends over Time in Multiple Sclerosis
M Trojano, G Lucchese, G Graziano, BV Taylor, S Simpson, V Lepore, F Grand'Maison, P Duquette, G Izquierdo, P Grammond, MP Amato, R Bergamaschi, G Giuliani, C Boz, R Hupperts, V Van Pesch, J Lechner-Scott, E Cristiano, M Fiol, C Oreja-Guevara Show all
Plos One | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2012
Open access
Abstract
Background: A female/male (F/M) ratio increase over time in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients was demonstrated in many countries around the world. So far, a direct comparison of sex ratio time-trends among MS populations from different geographical areas was not carried out. Objective: In this paper we assessed and compared sex ratio trends, over a 60-year span, in MS populations belonging to different latitudinal areas. Methods: Data of a cohort of 15,996 (F = 11,290; M = 4,706) definite MS with birth years ranging from 1930 to 1989 were extracted from the international MSBase registry and the New Zealand MS database. Gender ratios were calculated by six decades based on year of birth and we..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This work was supported by annual research grants from the Italian University and Research Ministry (MIUR) (COFIN 2008-2009 M. T.) Strategic Project Apulian Region "Neurobiotech" PS 124, (MT, VL). The MSBase Registry is supported by the MSBase Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation. The MSBase Foundation receives financial support from Merck Serono, Biogen Idec, Novartis Pharma, Bayer Schering and Sanofi Aventis. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.