TY - JOUR
T1 - Socioeconomic determinants of global distribution of multiple sclerosis
T2 - an ecological investigation based on Global Burden of Disease data
AU - Moghaddam, Vahid Kazemi
AU - Dickerson, Aisha S.
AU - Bazrafshan, Edris
AU - Seyedhasani, Seyedeh Nahid
AU - Najafi, Fereshteh
AU - Hadei, Mostafa
AU - Momeni, Jalil
AU - Moradi, Ghasem
AU - Sarmadi, Mohammad
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Student Research Committee of Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences [grant numbers: SRC-97-114]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation, and preparation of the manuscript.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Student Research Committee of Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences for their financial support for performing this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Background: Socioeconomic factors may be involved in risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), either indirectly or as confounding factors. In this study two comprehensive indicators reflecting socioeconomic differences, including the Human Development Index (HDI) and Prosperity Index (PI), were used to assess the impact of these factors on the worldwide distribution of MS. Methods: The data for this global ecological study were obtained from three comprehensive databases including the Global Burden of Disease (as the source of MS indices), United Nations Development Programme (source for HDI) and the Legatum Institute Database for PI. MS indices (including prevalence, incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years) were all analyzed in the form of age- and sex-standardized. Correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between HDI and PI and their subsets with MS indices. Results: All MS indices were correlated with HDI and PI. It was also found that developed countries had significantly higher prevalence and incidence rates of MS than developing countries. Education and governance from the PI, and gross national income and expected years of schooling from the HDI were more associated with MS. Education was significantly related to MS indices (p < 0.01) in both developed and developing countries. Conclusion: In general, the difference in income and the socioeconomic development globally have created a landscape for MS that should be studied in more detail in future studies.
AB - Background: Socioeconomic factors may be involved in risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), either indirectly or as confounding factors. In this study two comprehensive indicators reflecting socioeconomic differences, including the Human Development Index (HDI) and Prosperity Index (PI), were used to assess the impact of these factors on the worldwide distribution of MS. Methods: The data for this global ecological study were obtained from three comprehensive databases including the Global Burden of Disease (as the source of MS indices), United Nations Development Programme (source for HDI) and the Legatum Institute Database for PI. MS indices (including prevalence, incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years) were all analyzed in the form of age- and sex-standardized. Correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between HDI and PI and their subsets with MS indices. Results: All MS indices were correlated with HDI and PI. It was also found that developed countries had significantly higher prevalence and incidence rates of MS than developing countries. Education and governance from the PI, and gross national income and expected years of schooling from the HDI were more associated with MS. Education was significantly related to MS indices (p < 0.01) in both developed and developing countries. Conclusion: In general, the difference in income and the socioeconomic development globally have created a landscape for MS that should be studied in more detail in future studies.
KW - Ecology study
KW - Human development index
KW - Multiple sclerosis
KW - Prosperity index
KW - Socioeconomic factors
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U2 - 10.1186/s12883-021-02170-3
DO - 10.1186/s12883-021-02170-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 33794796
AN - SCOPUS:85103807784
SN - 1471-2377
VL - 21
JO - BMC neurology
JF - BMC neurology
IS - 1
M1 - 145
ER -