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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
10:46
A Method of Trigonometric Modelling of Seasonal Variation Demonstrated with Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Data
Published on: December 9, 2015
[Mortality due to multiple sclerosis in Spain, 1951-1992]
J Llorca1, D Prieto, M Delgado Rodríguez
1Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Cantabria. llorcaj@medi.unican.es
Neurologia (Barcelona, Spain)
|December 28, 1999
Summary
Multiple sclerosis mortality in Spain showed an increasing trend until 1968, followed by stability. Environmental factors acting early in life appear to influence this trend, not long-term factors or genetics.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Neurology
- Biostatistics
Context:
- Analyzing multiple sclerosis (MS) mortality trends in Spain provides insights into disease patterns and contributing factors.
- Historical mortality data from 1951 to 1992 allows for the examination of long-term epidemiological shifts.
Purpose:
- To identify the pattern of age-adjusted multiple sclerosis mortality evolution in Spain.
- To quantify the influence of environmental factors and competing risks on MS mortality trends.
Summary:
- Multiple sclerosis mortality in Spain increased from 1951 to 1968, then stabilized from 1970 onwards.
- Gompertzian analysis revealed that MS mortality is influenced by early-acting environmental factors and competing risks (R0), which remained relatively constant.
- The observed mortality trend is attributed to changes in early-life environmental exposures rather than long-term factors or genetics.
Impact:
- This study suggests that interventions targeting early-life environmental factors may be crucial for mitigating multiple sclerosis mortality.
- Understanding the etiological drivers of MS mortality trends can inform public health strategies and future research.
- The findings highlight the importance of age-specific and time-varying analyses in epidemiological studies of chronic diseases.
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