© 1998 Oxford University Press
research-article |
Dental amalgam and multiple sclerosis: a case-control study in Montreal, Canada
aEpidemiology Research Unit. Research Center, Hôtel-Dieu Pavilion, CHUM. 3850 St Urbain, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal Montreal, Quebec, Canada
bDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal Montreal. Quebec, Canada
cBiostatistics Division, Environmental Health Directorate, Health Protection Branch Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
dDepartment of Microbiology, Hôtel-Dieu Pavilion CHUM, Montreal (Quebec), Canada
eDepartment of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa Ontario. Canada
Reprint requests to: Dr P Ghadirian, Unité de recherche en épidémiologie, Centre de recherche-CHUM, Pavilion Hôtel-Dieu, 3850 rue St Urbain, Montréal, Québec, H2W 1T8, Canada
BACKGROUND: The aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) remains poorly understood. Dental amalgams containing mercury have recently been suggested as a possible risk factor for MS.
METHODS: In a case-control study conducted between 1991 and 1994, we interviewed a total of 143 MS patients and 128 controls, to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics and the number of dental amalgams and the time since installation based on dentists' records.
RESULTS: Neither the number nor the duration of exposure to amalgams supported an increased risk of MS. After adjustment for age, sex, smoking, and education those who had more than 15 fillings had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.57 (95% CI: 0.78– 8.54) compared to those who had none; for individuals whose first amalgam was inserted more than 15 years prior to the study, we found an OR of 1.34 (95% CI: 0.38–4.72).
CONCLUSIONS: Although a suggestive elevated risk was found for those individuals with a large number of dental amalgams, and for a long period of time, the difference between cases and controls was not statistically significant.
Keywords Multiple sclerosis, dental amalgams, mercury
Accepted 21 November 1997
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