title: Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis in African-American black and European-origin white patients.
abstract: Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis is now recognized, but the association with ethnicity has not been well studied. In a retrospective review at a major teaching facility, 46 pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis patients were identified; of these, 24 were African-American black and 19 were European-origin white. Both groups were similar in mean age at onset (black, 13.6 +/- 3.36 years; white, 13.68 +/- 3.42 years) and total duration of follow-up (black, 42.7 +/- 43.5 months; white, 38.2 +/- 35.3 months), with no significant difference in time to onset of disease-modifying therapy (black, 11.2 +/- 4.7 months; white, 12.4 +/- 5.1 months). The percentage of females was higher in the black than in the white group (83% vs 47%; P = 0.014). The annualized relapse rate was significantly higher in the black than in the white group (1.80 +/- 1.14 vs 1.13 +/- 0.50; P < 0.001). These findings are consistent with data suggesting a more aggressive disease phenotype among African-American blacks with adult-onset multiple sclerosis. Larger multicenter studies are warranted to confirm the findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Boster
authors.forename: Christina F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Endress
authors.forename: Stephanie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hreha
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caon
authors.forename: Jai S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Perumal
authors.forename: Omar A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*