Emiratis in Abu Dhabi living with MS ‘more than double global average’

ABU DHABI // The number of Emiratis in the capital living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is more than twice the global ­average, a study revealed.

The autoimmune disorder affects 64.44 per 100,000 people in Abu Dhabi, while the World Health Organisation estimated average global prevalence was 30 per 100,000. Low vitamin D levels, smoking and genetic factors may be causes.

“The Abu Dhabi Emirati population has one of the highest, most reliable prevalence rates on the Arab peninsula,” it was reported in the How Global MS Prevalence is Changing: A Retrospective Chart Review in the United Arab Emirates study.

The report was carried out by Johns Hopkins University in conjunction with Tawam Hospital.

Traditionally, the prevalence of MS in the Arab world has been thought to be low,” said Nicoline Schiess, assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins who worked on the study.

“However, as more studies are done in this region and there is more knowledge and awareness of the disease and the access to MRIs are increased, the data is starting to show that the difference in prevalence of MS ­between the Arab world and parts of the United States and western Europe are not as great as previously thought.

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