Denmark has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world

Only San Marino and Canada have a higher prevalence and no-one knows why

Oct 17, 2018

In Denmark, there are 16,000 people struggling with multiple sclerosis – the third highest-rate per capita in the world behind just San Marino and Canada.

Right now, there is nothing to explain why Denmark has such a high rate of the illness, according to Finn Sellebjerg, a doctor at the Sclerosis Centre and the Rigshospitalet city hospital.

“The most concerning thing is that we’ve seen a doubling of the number of people with multiple sclerosis in Denmark over the past 20 years and we don’t understand why,” Sellebjerg told DR Nyheder.

1,000 faces
Sellebjerg did contend that part of the explanation could be that doctors have become better at making a diagnosis, particularly of milder cases – which was not possible earlier.

Multiple sclerosis is a disorder that affects people in a multitude of different ways, which is why it’s referred to as being the illness with a 1,000 faces.

Some people feel extreme fatigue or have trouble concentrating, while others are confined to wheelchairs or have sensory disturbances in arms or legs.

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