Butcher P J
Med Hypotheses. 1986 Feb;19(2):169-78. doi: 10.1016/0306-9877(86)90057-5.
Epidemiological studies of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the United States have shown an association with urban living and higher socio-economic groups and a higher incidence and earlier age at onset of symptoms in women. This study is based on the proposition that these trends may be a consequence of differences in exposure to an etiological factor around 15 years of age. As a result of variations in related United States and New Zealand data and other pertinent observations the possibility of a link between high childhood milk intake followed by a large or sudden reduction during the adolescent growth spurt, and the subsequent incidence of MS in young adults is proposed. The possible involvement of calcium and lead metabolism is also discussed. It may be that the elusive environmental variable associated with the incidence of MS is partly a behavioural one related to western social attitudes.
美国对多发性硬化症（MS）的流行病学研究表明，MS与城市生活、较高的社会经济群体有关，女性的发病率更高，症状出现的年龄更早。本研究基于这样一种观点，即这些趋势可能是15岁左右接触致病因素存在差异的结果。由于美国和新西兰相关数据以及其他相关观察结果存在差异，有人提出儿童期高牛奶摄入量，随后在青春期生长突增期间大幅或突然减少，与年轻成年人随后发生MS之间存在联系的可能性。同时也讨论了钙和铅代谢可能涉及的情况。与MS发病率相关的难以捉摸的环境变量可能部分是与西方社会态度有关的行为变量。
