Where MS is most common

[hbomb_1984]

I have heard that MS is most common in places closer to the equator but some posts that I have read contradict this.  People are saying that MS is more common in northern regions. I would think that MS is most common in places closer to the equator where it is hotter because the heat tends to bring out symptoms. What do you know about this matter? I'm very curious.

[hbomb_1984]

I'm of German, Danish and Italian decent and have lived in southern California all my life except for one time I ran off  to North Carolina with a guy for 8 months. No one in my family has MS but I have had mono which I heard the virus might be connected.

[cjacks]

I was born blond and fair skinned , my mother's side are Scotch-Irish, who migrated from Norway region. I have always been sensitive to all sorts of things, environmental

I just had a small part of genetic testing ,which explains some of my stuff . I;ll post a thread . Very interesting subject.

I'm a 'Natural' L'Oreal woman, and loving it !!!  

Jo

[Heather3418]

I am with you...I think also that environment may have something to do with MS.

[risnerrose]

I also am fair complected, with blue eyes.  My blonde hair has darkened and is now receiving "heavenly highlights".  I have no family history of MS and have lived in the south all of my life.  I do have a colleague from twenty years ago that is also suspicious of MS.  We worked in a school with only three teachers . . . and now two of us have probable MS.  I can't help but suspect an environmental connection.

[LATW]

I am faired skinned, born blond but brown hair now, blue eyes. Scotch-Irish heritage.

Spent a lot of my childhood outside and tanned without burning too much.  

Now that I am older and on medication I burn very easy.

I am in Northern Indiana.  There is a family history of MS.  

LA

[hbomb_1984]

Everyone who has commented so far has fair skin and light colored hair but I do not fit this criteria at all. I have brown eyes, brown hair and my skin is the type that tans and does not burn. In fact I look like I am a latina in the summer. Ever since I was a child I have always been in the sun a lot and the same thing goes for now. hmmm

[doublevision1]

I am fair skinned with nearly jet black locks.  Makes those greys just stand out even more!  When I went out of town last week to see my neuro I managed to squeeze in a visit to the salon.  Might as well try to look good even if one does not feel so good...

How did we go from talking about epidemiology to hair dye?  Wow, talk about a tangent.....LOL

[nikki861]

I am fair skinned also. Natural red head. My hair got darker as I got older. Thanks to Clairol Nice and Easy #110, I can keep at least my auburn color............LOL

[Heather3418]

A million years ago, mine was strawberry blonde, as they called it.  As you know from meeting me, I am fair-skinned also.  Now I keep that strawberry blonde color with Clairol #8G.  THANK YOU CLAIROL!

Heather.

[essdipity]

As you know, I'm blue-eyed and fair-skinned. Clairol knows best about my hair, but it was quite light a million years ago when I was small. Now it's light for another reason, under this Medium Golden Blond.

ess

[Heather3418]

I think you make a very valid point there.

Just for reference...Scotland has the highest prevelance of MS in the world in the lastest literature that I read.  I have always wondered since reading that, if being of Scottish ancestry, would make one more suspeptible to acquiring MS.  I am Scottish/Irish and German. Hmmmmm!  I have red hair naturally.

I now wonder how many of those diagnosed have light skin or blonde or red hair?

Heather  

[risnerrose]

I would not be surprised if MS is discovered to be - not one single disease, but a "catch all" for several disorders yet to be unraveled.

[doublevision1]

Migration patterns, climate, diet, sunlight exposure, infectious diseases, and genes (most likely a complex set of genetic factors) are amongst the potential causes/triggers/contributing factors in determining who will develop MS.

I read a theory that the Inuit, as well as Australian aborigines and Native Americans, are at much lower risk due to a combination of genetic makeup as well as possibly dietary factors.

db1

[gooddays]

I have not posted in a while, but I read the forum an a daily basis.

I went looking for a site that you may be able to clarify your concerns and found this one that is very helpful for most of us.  This article was just posted on the left hand corner of this forum.

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/multiple-sclerosis/overview.html

You would able to find more answers right here in the Forum, people in this forum have a vast knowledge about MS and are willing to help you.

One more thing, which I always ended my comments with, is WE HAVE MS, BUT MS does not have us.

I hope you find your answers and understanding more and more in order to put the Monster at bay.

To all of you MSers and Limbolanders, keep looking for ways to make life a little easier for your own sake.

Have a good day everyone,

Goodday aka Zulma

[risnerrose]

Another interesting part of this topic . . . if you move before a certain age (12 - I think??) you acquire the risk of your new location.  If you move in your teens, your risk is connected with your former location.  In other words, people moving to the south prior to their teen years should decrease their MS risk.  There is so much yet to be understood.

Sherry  

[essdipity]

Hi. You seem to have it backwards. MS is seen most frequently far from the equator. Scotland and Canada have the highest incidence, I believe, but the rate is relatively high all over the northern part of North America and Northern Europe. (For reasons no one knows, though, Eskimos, for instance, have practically no MS.)

Because of this more northerly correlation, scientists speculate that one factor is exposure to stronger sun, or lack thereof. Because we get vitamin D from the sun, there is a lot of investigation into that aspect. What seems sure is that there is no one factor, but a combination of many, that produces MS, and it may be different for different people.  One area getting a lot of study is viruses in the health history of MS sufferers.

Heat (or sun) does not cause MS. What if often but not always does is bring out symptoms or make them worse in someone who already has the disease.

Hope this helps.

ess