Rosati G, Aiello I, Pirastru M I, Mannu L, Sanna G, Sau G F, Sotgiu S
Neurological Clinic, University of Sassari, Italy.
Neuroepidemiology. 1996 Jan-Feb;15(1):10-9. doi: 10.1159/000109884.
The Sardinians are an ethnically homogeneous population, having a genetic structure quite different from that of all other Italian and European populations. All epidemiological studies carried out in Sardinia since 1975 indicate that this Mediterranean island shows twice the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to continental Italy, but the size of the Sardinian communities so far surveyed has been too small to draw definitive conclusions. To overcome this draw-back, we have studied the frequency of MS in a well-defined area of north-western Sardinia, with a population of about 270,000 in the 1991 census. Based on 276 MS cases, the prevalence on December 31st, 1991, was 102.6 per 100,000. The incidence, averaging 2 per 100,000 in the period of 1962 to 1971, rose to 5 in the period from 1977 to 1991. The present study confirms the higher frequency of MS among Sardinians compared to other Italian populations. Genetic, linguistic and historical data suggest a role of environmental and genetic factors in determining the notable difference in MS risk between Sardinia and the rest of Italy.
撒丁岛人是一个种族同质化的群体，其基因结构与所有其他意大利人和欧洲人群有很大不同。自1975年以来在撒丁岛进行的所有流行病学研究表明，这个地中海岛屿的多发性硬化症（MS）患病率是意大利大陆的两倍，但迄今为止所调查的撒丁岛社区规模过小，无法得出明确结论。为克服这一缺陷，我们研究了撒丁岛西北部一个明确界定区域内的MS发病率，1991年人口普查时该区域人口约为27万。基于276例MS病例，1991年12月31日的患病率为每10万人102.6例。发病率在1962年至1971年期间平均为每10万人2例，在1977年至1991年期间升至每10万人5例。本研究证实，与其他意大利人群相比，撒丁岛人中MS的发病率更高。基因、语言和历史数据表明，环境和遗传因素在决定撒丁岛与意大利其他地区MS风险的显著差异中发挥了作用。
