Черные пациенты с рассеянным склерозом в США имеют наивысшую смертность от этого заболевания

Black patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have the highest average annual age-adjusted MS mortality rates between 2012 and 2023, with Black patients dying at younger ages than White patients, according to results of a study published in Neurology Open Access. Researchers sought to examine MS mortality trends by race and ethnicity in the United States, as well as contributing causes of death and comorbidities among individuals with MS. They analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database. The analysis included 42,205 deaths among individuals aged 25 years and older in the US between 2012 and 2023 in which MS was identified as the underlying cause of death. The researchers also examined contributing causes of death and comorbidities. The overall age-adjusted MS mortality rate during the study period was 1.10 per 100,000 US population, including 1.34 per 100,000 for women and 0.82 per 100,000 for men. Stratified by race and ethnicity, the average annual age-adjusted mortality rate was highest among non-Hispanic Black women (1.56 per 100,000) and non-Hispanic Black men (0.97 per 100,000), followed by non-Hispanic White women (1.54 per 100,000) and non-Hispanic White men (0.92 per 100,000). Rates were lower among Hispanic women (0.38 per 100,000) and Hispanic men (0.26 per 100,000). These findings highlight the need for earlier recognition of vascular risk and the development of targeted interventions and public health strategies to address them, particularly among populations at heightened risk. Mortality increased with age among both sexes and peaked at ages 75 to 84 years among White patients and 65 to 74 years among Black patients before declining substantially. Although age-specific mortality increased across all racial and ethnic groups during the study period, statistically significant increases were observed only among Hispanic women (average annual percentage change [AAPC], 1.35) and non-Hispanic Black men (AAPC, 2.28). Mortality among non-Hispanic White women also showed significant trend changes during the study period, including an increasing trend from 2012 to 2016, followed by a decreasing trend and then a rapidly increasing trend since 2020. The most common comorbidities observed among individuals with MS who died during the study period were hypertension, cardiac arrest, septicemia, and respiratory failure. The mortality rate among individuals with MS and hypertension was 0.14 per 100,000, followed by cardiac arrest at 0.13 per 100,000 and septicemia at 0.12 per 100,000. From 2019 to 2023, hypertension-related mortality increased across the White, Black, and Hispanic groups. Cardiac arrest mortality rates were higher among non-Hispanic Black individuals than other racial groups between 2019 and 2022, while respiratory failure-related mortality rose rapidly among non-Hispanic Black individuals from 2021 to 2023. State-level mortality rates also varied in 2023. The highest age-adjusted mortality rates per 100,000 were observed in Wyoming (2.14), Nebraska (1.98), Oregon (1.94), Maine (1.79), Kansas (1.73), Michigan (1.74), and Minnesota (1.69). Study limitations include the use of death certificates, which may not identify MS as a cause of death in some cases, as well as differences in death certificate reporting across states. Race and ethnicity were not self-identified, which may have resulted in misclassification. Other limitations include a lack of information on disease-modifying therapies, MS disease severity, regional health care access, socioeconomic status, and reporting practices. The study authors concluded, “These findings highlight the need for earlier recognition of vascular risk and the development of targeted interventions and public health strategies to address them, particularly among populations at heightened risk.” Disclosures: Some study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures. References: Amezcua L, Kim CW, Lobo JM, Goldman MD, Sohn M-W. Racial and ethnic trends and comorbidity patterns in multiple sclerosis mortality: a CDC WONDER analysis. Neurol Open Access. 2026;2:e000148. doi:10.1212/WN9.0000000000000148