Motor neuron disease and multiple sclerosis among immigrants to England from the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, and east and west Africa.

The mortality from motor neuron disease (MND) and multiple sclerosis (MS) was studied among immigrants to England and Wales from the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, and East and West Africa during the 10 years 1979-88. The MND mortality among ethnic Asian males was only half and for females one fifth of that expected at English rates. MND mortality in Caribbean immigrants was somewhat lower than expected. White immigrants from the Indian subcontinent had the expected MND mortality. MS mortality was low among Asian, West Indian, and African immigrants. This study is evidence that MND mortality is not the same in all ethnic groups.