Question reference: S3W-02263
- Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 19 July 2007
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Current status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 August 2007
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) incidence per 100,000 and (b) number of cases of multiple sclerosis was in Scotland in the most recent year for which figures are available and what comparative information it has for (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) each OECD nation and (iii) each EU member state.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
However, a number of sources provide background data related to this request.
(a)
The incidence of multiple sclerosis, MS, (number of people newly diagnosed) in Scotland is not held centrally. However, national estimates based on a variety of sources are available on the Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) website:
This information is derived from statistics on primary care consultations collected as part of the Practice Team Information scheme (PTI), from hospital discharge data and from specific survey data. Due to the natural course of MS, both PTI and hospital discharge statistics represent significant underestimates of the true prevalence and incidence of the disease. However, survey data is believed to provide more reliable estimates.
(b)
Based on PTI data, the estimated number of patients contacting GP practices for multiple sclerosis in the financial year 2005-06 (the most recent year for which figures are available) was 5,300. This equates to a rate of 98 per 100,000.
It is important to note that this PTI estimate is based on only those patients who have consulted their general practice in the year. It is likely that many patients with MS would not consult their practice within a given year; care required by MS patients often being managed by hospital clinics. Thus, these estimates are likely to be a substantial underestimate of the true prevalence of the condition.
Hospital discharge data to calendar year 2006 (provisional) is available at:
It should be noted that, as with PTI data, this information is likely to considerably underestimate true incidence because many people with MS will receive their care at out-patient clinics and so will not be included in these admissions data.
Information on outpatient clinic attendances for MS is not centrally available, as specific diagnoses are not recorded.
(i), (ii) and (iii)
Comparative information on MS for the United Kingdom, EU member states and OECD nations is not held centrally. A discussion of the difficulties associated with making international comparisons is made on the ScotPHO web site, but no specific data are presented.
Please note the ScotPHO multiple sclerosis web pages are due to be updated later this year.