This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1352458508090226v1 14/7/887    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Houzen, H Articles by Sasaki, H Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Houzen, H Articles by Sasaki, H Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Multiple Sclerosis Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Increasing prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis in northern Japan

¹ Department of Neurology, Obihiro Kosei General Hospital, Obihiro, Japan
² Department of Neurology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
³ Department of Neurology, Sapporo Minami National Hospital, Sapporo, Japan
⁴ Sapporo Neurology Clinic, Sapporo, Japan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

We previously reported that prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Japan was 8.6/100,000 individuals in 2001. This was much higher than that previously reported from Asian countries. A second epidemiologic survey was conducted to assess changes in MS prevalence and incidence over the last 30 years in Tokachi province of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. The authors studied the frequency of MS in the community of Tokachi Province, where the population has stabilized between 350,000 and 360,000 over the last 30 years. The survey was conducted at the same institutions using the same methods as the first survey in 2001. On March 31, 2006, 47 subjects satisfied Poser’s criteria for MS. The prevalence rate increased from 8.6 to 13.1/100,000 individuals between 2001 and 2006. The prevalence of conventional MS (C-MS) increased in 5 years although the prevalence of optic-spinal MS (OS-MS) did not increase. The mean annual incidence increased from 0.15 (1975–1989) to 0.68 (1990–2004). The results show the highest MS prevalence in Asia; the increase in MS prevalence in Tokachi Province may be due to increased incidence after 1990.

Key Words: epidemiology, incidence, MRI, multiple sclerosis, prevalence, spinal cord

First published on June 23, 2008, doi:10.1177/1352458508090226

Multiple Sclerosis 2008;14:887.

A more recent version of this article appeared on August 1, 2008


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				I. Bostrom, M. Callander, J. F Kurtzke, and A.-M. Landtblom High prevalence of multiple sclerosis in the Swedish county of Varmland Multiple Sclerosis, November 1, 2009; 15(11): 1253 - 1262. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Q Cheng, X-J Cheng, and G-X Jiang Multiple sclerosis in China--history and future Multiple Sclerosis, June 1, 2009; 15(6): 655 - 660. [Abstract] [PDF]