Skip to main content
Log in

Migration and multiple sclerosis in United Kingdom and Ireland immigrants to Australia: a reassessment. II. Characteristics of early (pre-1947) compared to later migrants

  • Original Communication
  • Published:
Journal of Neurology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In our recent reassessment we explored the risk of MS by age at immigration in 258 migrants from United Kingdom and Ireland (UKI) to four states of Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia) in the period 1947–1981 (Group II). In the present report we have compared their characteristics with 44 cases who migrated before 1947 (Group I), divided into two subsets: Group Ia (15 cases) was rather similar to Group II in age at immigration (means of 20 and 23 years), age at onset (39 and 33 years), and duration from immigration to onset (19 and 10 years). Group Ib (29 cases) was significantly different from Group II, with mean ages of 4 years at immigration and 40 years at onset, for a mean interval of some 35 years between immigration and onset. All onsets in Group Ib occurred after 1947. We concluded that the Group Ib cases had most probably acquired their MS in Australia. Immigrants from high MS risk countries, including UKI, were modest in number before 1947, but some 770,000 entered from 1947–1981. They may have been the source of MS for the Group Ib migrants.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. McLeod JG, Hammond SR, Kurtzke JF (2011) Migration and multiple sclerosis in immigrants to Australia from United Kingdom and Ireland: a reassessment. I. risk of MS by age at immigration. J Neurol 258:1140–1149

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hammond SR, English DR, McLeod JG (2000) The age-range of risk of developing multiple sclerosis. Evidence from a migrant population in Australia. Brain 123:968–974

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hammond SR, de Wytt C, Maxwell IC, Landy PJ, English D, McLeod JG et al (1987) The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in Queensland, Australia. J Neurol Sci 80:185–204

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hammond SR, McLeod JG, Millingen KS, Stewart-Wynne EG, English D, Holland JT et al (1988) The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in three Australian cities: Perth, Newcastle and Hobart. Brain 111:1–25

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hammond SR, Stewart-Wynne EG, English D, McLeod JG, McCall MG (1988) The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in Western Australia. Aust NZ J Med 18:102–110

    Google Scholar 

  6. McLeod JG, Hammond SR, Hallpike JF (1994) Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in Australia. With NSW and SA survey results. Med J Aust 160:117–120

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kurtzke JF, Dean G, Botha DPJ (1970) A method for estimating the age at immigration of white immigrants to South Africa, with an example of its importance. S Afr Med J 44:663–669

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Ramagopalan SV, Dyment DA, Ebers GC (2008) Genetic epidemiology: the use of old and new tools for multiple sclerosis. Trends Neurosci 31:645–652

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Handunnetthi L, Ramagopalan SV, Ebers GC, Knight JC (2010) Regulation of MHC class II gene expression, genetic variation and disease. Genes Immun 11:99–122

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Ebers GC (2008) Environmental factors and multiple sclerosis. Lancet Neurol 7:268–277

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Compston A, Confavreux C (2006) The distribution of multiple sclerosis. In: Compston A, Confavreux C, Lassmann H, McDonald I, Miller D, Noseworthy J, Smith K, Wekerle H (eds) McAlpine’s multiple sclerosis, 4th edn. Elsevier, London, pp 71–111

    Google Scholar 

  12. Miller DH, Hammond SR, McLeod JG, Purdie G, Skegg DCG (1990) Multiple sclerosis in Australia and New Zealand: are the determinants genetic or environmental? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiat 53:903–905

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Taylor BV, Lucas RM, Dear K, Kilpatrick TJ, Pender MP, van der Mei IAF et al (2010) Latitudinal variation in incidence and type of first central nervous demyelinating events. Mult Scler 16:398–405

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ascherio A, Munch M (2000) Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. Epidemiology 11:220–224

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. DeLorenzo GN, Munger KL, Lennette ET, Orentreich N, Vogelman JH, Ascherio A (2006) Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. Evidence of association from a prospective study with long-term follow-up. Arch Neurol 63:839–844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ascherio A, Munger KL (2007) Environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis. Part I: the role of infection. Ann Neurol 61:288–299

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Pender MP (2011) The essential role of Epstein-Barr virus in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. Neuroscientist 17:351–367

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. van der Mei IAF, Ponsonby A-L, Dwyer T, Blizzard L, Simmons R, Taylor BV, Butzkueven H, Kilpatrick T (2003) Past exposure to sun, skin phenotype, and risk of multiple sclerosis: case-control study. BMJ 327:316

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Ascherio A, Munger KL (2007) Environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis. Part II: noninfectious factors. Ann Neurol 61:504–513

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Staples J, Ponsonby A-L, Lim L (2010) Low maternal exposure to ultraviolet radiation in pregnancy, month of birth, and risk of multiple sclerosis in offspring: longitudinal analysis. BMJ 340:c1640. doi:10.1136/bmj.c1640:1-7

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Holmøy T, Lossius A, Gundersen TE, Moen SM, Castellazzi M, Fainardi E, Casetta I (2011) Intrathecal levels of vitamin D and IgG in multiple sclerosis. Acta Neurol Scand. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0404.2011.01577.x

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Kurtzke JF (2011) Invited Comment. On the prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Serbia. Neuroepidemiology 37:107–108

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Kurtzke JF (2000) Multiple sclerosis in time and space–geographic clues to cause. J Neurovirol 6(Suppl 2):S134–S140

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Kurtzke JF (2005) Epidemiology and etiology of multiple sclerosis. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 16:327–349

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Dean G, Kurtzke JF (1971) On the risk of multiple sclerosis according to age at immigration to South Africa. BMJ 3:725–729

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kurtzke JF (1965) On the time of onset in multiple sclerosis. Acta Neurol Scand 41:140–158

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Kurtzke JF (1976) Multiple sclerosis among immigrants. BMJ 1:1527–1528

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Kurtzke JF, Beebe GW, Norman JE Jr (1985) Migration and the risk of MS. Neurology 35:672–678

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Kurtzke JF, Delasnerie-Lauprêtre N, Wallin MT (1998) Multiple sclerosis in North African migrants to France. Acta Neurol Scand 98:302–309

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Wallin MT, Heltberg A, Kurtke JF (2010) Multiple sclerosis in the Faroe Islands. 8. notifiable diseases. Acta Neurol Scand 122:102–109

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are most grateful to Petra Mackaskill of the Department of Public Health, University of Sydney, for the statistical analyses presented in this paper.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. G. McLeod.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McLeod, J.G., Hammond, S.R. & Kurtzke, J.F. Migration and multiple sclerosis in United Kingdom and Ireland immigrants to Australia: a reassessment. II. Characteristics of early (pre-1947) compared to later migrants. J Neurol 259, 684–693 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-011-6244-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-011-6244-1

Keywords

Navigation