4125.0: Tuesday, October 23, 2001: 12:30 PM-2:00 PM | ||||
Oral Session | ||||
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| Multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurological disease characterized by destruction of the central nervous system myelin, can result in severe disability. Women are disproportionately affected by this disease, and the average age of onset is such that significant loss occurs in length and quality of life. Symptoms include weakness, numbness, tremor, loss of vision, pain, paralysis, loss of balance, and bladder and bowel dysfunction. The causes of MS are unknown, but it may result from a combination of environmental exposures and genetic susceptibilities. Residents of several communities located near hazardous waste sites have expressed concern about elevated rates of MS. Presently, federal, state, and local health agencies do not have the tools necessary to respond to questions of chronic diseases such as these. There is limited information on expected age- and sex-specific prevalence of the disease, and the lack of MS disease registries complicates the task of enumerating cases in a community. This session will be beneficial for health officials and public health researchers concerned with the investigation of chronic diseases for which limited information on background rates is available and the difficulties this presents with prevalence estimation. | ||||
| See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement. | ||||
| Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1. Identify available sources for national estimates of multiple sclerosis prevalence; 2. Identify strategies for enumerating multiple sclerosis cases in a defined community; and 3. Describe avenues for future community-based research to identify risk factors for multiple sclerosis. | ||||
| Mary C. White, ScD Curtis Noonan, PhD | ||||
| National prevalence estimates for multiple sclerosis based on the National Health Interview Survey Curtis W Noonan, PhD, Steven J Kathman, PhD, Mary C White, ScD | ||||
| Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis in Morrison, Illinois Joel B. Cowen, MA, Andrea S. Doughty, PhD, Michael P. Zurn, BS, Amita Agrawal, BS | ||||
| Determining the Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis in Sugar Creek, Missouri, a Community Near an Inactive Refinery Where Concern Exists About Hazardous Wastes William R. Schmidt, MPH, PA-C, John Neuberger, DrPH, Denise Jordan-Izaguirre, Sharon Lynch, MD, Marla Sutton | ||||
| Development of baseline multiple sclerosis prevalence rates in Texas Judy Henry, MS, Laurie Wagner, MS, Jeff Shire, MS, John Villanacci | ||||
| Multiple Sclerosis Among Residents of Lorain County, Ohio Robert W. Indian, MS, Holly L. Engelhardt, MS | ||||
| Future directions for multiple sclerosis epidemiology research: exploration of genetic and environmental risk factors Dhelia Williasmon | ||||
| Sponsor: | Epidemiology | |||
| Cosponsors: | Chiropractic Health Care; Socialist Caucus | |||
| CE Credits: | CME, Chiropractic, Health Education (CHES), Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work | |||