Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis in African-American black and European-origin white patients.
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.
Boster
Aaron L
AL
Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Endress
Christina F
CF
Hreha
Stephanie A
SA
Caon
Christina
C
Perumal
Jai S
JS
Khan
Omar A
OA
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*