Abstract
The county of Värmland, Sweden, has shown a high frequency of multiple sclerosis in
several investigations. It has been presented in three studies; a period prevalence
study in 1925–1934, a mortality study during 1952–1992 and a prevalence investigation
in 2002.
The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of industry in this high-risk
area for multiple sclerosis.
The three investigations were correlated with industry in 1913 and in the 1950s, all
analyzed by the Kruskall–Wallis test. Select industries from wood-pulp, paper and
iron/mechanical sectors were tested also in whole Sweden. The Spearman rank correlation
was used for these data and forestry data in Värmland.
In Värmland, industrial data from 1913 revealed that large sawmills were associated
with the period prevalence in 1925–1934 and there was a possible correlation with
the prevalence for 2002. Wood-pulp factories showed a possible association with the
prevalence 1925–1934 and the mortality 1952–1992. Some industries in the 1950s were
correlated with the prevalence 2002.
Wood and paper industries in Sweden 1913 showed an association with the MS mortality
1952–1992.
In summary, data on MS prevalence in Värmland and mortality both in Värmland and all
Sweden from the past 100 years suggest an association with wood-related industries in 1913 and in the 1950s,
whereas no consistent association was found for other industries.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 10, 2011
Accepted:
September 8,
2011
Received in revised form:
September 7,
2011
Received:
April 29,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
