The prevalence of multiple sclerosis in the Leeds Health Authority
a Department of Neurology, St James's
University Hospital, Leeds, UK, b Nuffield Institute for Health, University of Leeds, UK, c Research School of Medicine, University of Leeds, UK
Correspondence to: Dr H L Ford, Department of Neurology, St James's University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK.
Received 1 July 1997 and in revised form 10 October 1997;
Accepted 17 October 1997
OBJECTIVES
To determine the prevalence of multiple
sclerosis in the Leeds Health District.
METHODSMultiple sources of case ascertainment
were usednamely, neurology departments, hospital episode statistics,
general practitioners, the Leeds branch of the Multiple Sclerosis
Society, the West Yorkshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre,
community physiotherapists and occupational therapists, the Leeds
Wheelchair Centre, and the Young Disabled Unit. Data collection was
from retrospective analysis of hospital and primary care case records.
A population based incidence register was established by prospectively
registering all new patients with diagnoses of multiple sclerosis.
RESULTSOn prevalence day, 30 April 1996, 712 people with multiple sclerosis were identified living in Leeds
(population 732 061), giving a prevalence of 97/105. The
prevalence for definite and probable multiple sclerosis was
84/105, and for suspected multiple sclerosis it was
13/105. The sex ratio of prevalent people with multiple
sclerosis was 2.79 to 1 women to men. The mean age of prevalent cases
was 51 years, the mean age at symptom onset was 34 years, and the mean duration of disease was 16 years. Forty cases were prospectively reported as incident cases from 1 November 1995 to 1 February 1996.
CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of multiple sclerosis
in Leeds was found to be similar to that in the south of the United
Kingdom but lower than that in Scotland. There is no evidence of a
latitudinal gradient of increasing prevalence of multiple sclerosis
from the south to the north of England.
© 1998 by Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
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