Puzzle of MS rates highest in Tayside

Researchers are to probe the reasons why Tayside has the highest incidence of multiple sclerosis in mainland Scotland.

The Scottish Multiple Sclerosis Register, a national database with records of people diagnosed since 2010, shows only Orkney has a higher rate of the disease.

The central belt and Borders have the lowest rates.

The findings provide the first detailed snapshot of people affected by the disease across the country.

The study also confirms Scotland has one of the highest rates of MS diagnosis in the world.

It reveals incidence of the disease varies substantially between regions, even on the mainland.

Rates of diagnosis were three times higher in Orkney than the central belt and Borders, researchers found.

Women are particularly susceptible, with rates of the disease double that of men.

For example, a woman in Orkney has a one in 50 chance of developing MS during her lifetime compared with around one in 600 for a man living in the Borders.

The study adds weight to previous findings that disease rates are greater in northern regions but suggests that other factors may also be important.

Figures showed incidence of the disease in Shetland is more than one-third lower than in Orkney, despite Shetland being located further north.

Rates of MS in Tayside are almost double those in Lothian, however.

The team behind the research said further studies are needed to probe the underlying causes of regional and gender differences.

The research was led by the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at Edinburgh University.

It is published in the Journal of Neurology.