The Chinese and MS
August 27, 2011 at 2:45pm
Looking at the Chinese as a population has been very useful when studying chronic diseases.
According to Multiple Sclerosis International, the prevalence of MS in China is between one and 50 for every 100,000 people. The situation, however, changes when looking at immigrants who have come to Canada from countries where the exposure to the sun is different.
Canadians of Chinese origin were 10 times more likely to have MS than people in China, Savoie said. "Some of them have more severe MS than Canadian counterparts of Caucasian origin and that may tell us something about the fact that when you move across the globe, you're reacting, in fact, to these changes in the environment, including changes in exposure to vitamin D."
Vitamin D is obviously a very important component in this discussion, as most of Canada is at a northern latitude compared to China. But the Chinese are also have problems with vitamin D deficiencies in their own country.
Subclinical vitamin D deficiency was widespread among Beijing adolescent girls in winter. Low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in summer, low calcium intake, and low plasma calcium concentrations in winter were the main risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in winter.
What else changes for Chinese people who move to Canada? What other factors are new to them?
The western diet.
This has been studied in relationship to the endothelium and heart disease by Dr. T. Colin Campbell.
