REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN THE PREVALENCE RATES OF MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA, CANADA

Multiple sclerosis (MS) prevalence rates were examined for the fiscal years 1984/1985-1988/1989, in the province of Alberta, Canada, by age, sex and census division. Data were derived from the health care recor ds of individuals registered with the Alberta Health Care Insurance Pl an which requires registration by all residents of the province (appro ximately 2.4 million). The overall crude prevalence rate was 216.7 per 100,000 (173.1 for males; 260.3 for females) population. Females had a significantly higher prevalence (p < 0.05) and the rates were highly correlated between the sexes (r = 0.94, p < 0.01). The present study confirms other studies finding a high prevalence rate within the provi nce of Alberta. The prevalence rate for Alberta is among the highest r eported in the world indicating that the province appears to be an exc ess risk area relative to other global locations. Also, the results in dicate that MS is unevenly distributed throughout the province which o ffers support for the involvement of environmental factors related to the onset of this disorder.