This study’s purpose is to examine the potential relationships between MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and environmental outdoor air pollutants in GA (Georgia). We used secondary, cross-sectional data received from the member’s list of the National Multiples Sclerosis Society’s GA chapter (NMSS-GA), the U.S. census, and scorecard.org, a database based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (to 2002) and National Emissions Inventory (1999) data. The study population was 9,072,576 including 6,247 self-reported MS cases from NMSS-GA. Using stepwise multivariate linear regression of census and EPA data, the best predictive model in GA for female or total prevalence rates used per capita income and coarse particles (PM-10); male prevalence rates included only per capita income. The relationship between MS and PM-10 could be facilitated by influences of PM-10 on the systemic immune response and inflammation. More exposure and basic and clinical research are needed to understand environmental influences on MS.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:GEORGIA/oai:digitalarchive.gsu.edu:iph_theses-1007 |
| Date | 23 July 2007 |
| Creators | Gregory, Anthony Charles |
| Publisher | Digital Archive @ GSU |
| Source Sets | Georgia State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Public Health Theses |
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