Regional, socioeconomic and occupational groups and risk of hospital admission for multiple sclerosis: a cohort study in Sweden

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between hospitalization for multiple, sclerosis (MS) and region, socioeconomic status and occupation. Methods A nationwide database was constructed by linking Swedish Census data to the Hospital Discharge Register (1987-2001). The hospital diagnoses of MS were based on the International Classification of Diseases. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results Significantly increased or decreased risks of hospitalization for MS were found for individuals living in some counties. The overall SIRs for hospitalizations for MS were close to unity between different socioeconomic groups. Male religious workers, male postal workers and female administrators who had the same occupational title in two consecutive censuses had substantially higher risks of hospitalization for MS than the reference group. However, no increased risks were found for most occupational groups. Conclusions The present study suggests that region, socioeconomic status and occupation have a minor effect on the population's risk of hospitalization for MS.