Multiple sclerosis in India: a case-control study of environmental exposures.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the rate of prior environmental exposures between Indian multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and controls in order to identify potential disease triggering factors.


METHODS
A standard self-administered questionnaire regarding prior exposures was presented to 56 Indian MS patients and 147 other neural disease and healthy controls at two large medical centers in India.


RESULTS
The rate of prior foreign travel, surgeries, blood transfusions, clinical chicken pox and mumps infections and exposure to cats and farm animals was not significantly different between MS patients and controls. However, clinical measles infection and dog exposure occurred significantly more often in the MS patients.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings are consistent with but do not prove an association between prior measles infection, dog exposure and MS.
Bansil
S
S
Department of Neurosciences, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, USA.
Singhal
B S
BS
Ahuja
G K
GK
Riise
T
T
Ladiwala
U
U
Behari
M
M
Cook
S D
SD
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002415:Cats; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004285:Dogs; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000150:complications; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012189:Retrospective Studies