Divergent risk of multiple sclerosis in two anabaptist communities in America

SummaryA lowered risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been reported in the Hutterite community residing mainly in southern Canada. In another anabaptist community, the Old Colony Mennonites (OCM), settled in Canada and spread to Latin America, only a large pedigree with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases, including type I diabetes and three cases of MS, was reported. The prevalence of MS in the pedigree (3,158 per 100,000), even when observing its confidence interval, seems rather high, and the MS prevalence in the Mennonite general population is assumed at least to be equal to the Canadian rates. Based upon an extended study of the literature, the hypothesis that smoking and curing with nitrate/nitrite plays any role, by interaction with inflammatory intestinal changes in childhood infections, is supported. In addition, tobacco smoking and short-term breast-feeding as possible risk factors are also in line with a higher MS risk in OCM, whereas insecticides and herbicides can be excluded as risk factors in MS.