Recent findings from a study led by the University of Southern California suggest that black people die from multiple sclerosis (MS) at a younger age than white people with the disease, with the researchers calling for increased efforts to control blood pressure in high-risk groups.
The highest mortality rate was in those aged 65 to 74 for black people and 75 to 84 for white people. Deaths that included high blood pressure as a factor increased over the study period.
The findings were published in Neurology Open Access, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
“The reasons behind these health disparities are unclear, but they could be related to differing disease progression, access to healthcare, lifestyle and other factors like co-occurring conditions,” said study author Lilyana Amezcua, MD, of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers reviewed data on deaths in the overall US population from 2012 to 2023 as well as deaths that listed MS as a cause of death.
The overall death rate for people with MS was 1.10 per 100 000 people, with a rate of 1.34 for females and 0.82 for males. When looking at race and ethnicity, the rates were highest for black people, with rates of 1.56 for females and 0.97 for males.
For white people, the rates were 1.54 for females and 0.92 for males. For Hispanic people, the rates were 0.38 for females and 0.26 for males. For other races and ethnicities, the rates were 0.18 for females and 0.11 for males.
The researchers also found that deaths that included high blood pressure as a factor increased over 2019-2023 across white and black people.
“These results highlight the urgent need to develop targeted interventions to better control high BP, including earlier screening, improved access to primary care and approaches to reduce the effects of cardiovascular complications, especially among groups at elevated risk,” Amezcua said.
A limitation of the study was the use of death certificates, which may not always include MS as a cause of death.
The study was supported by the US Department of Defence and the Bristol Myer Squibb Foundation.
Study details
Racial and ethnic trends and comorbidity patterns in multiple sclerosis mortality: A CDC WONDER Analysis
Lilyana Amezcua, Chae Won Kim, Jennifer M. Lobo, Myla D. Goldman, and Min-Woong Sohn.
Published in Neurology on 22 July 2026
Abstract
Background and Objectives
MS-specific mortality has shown distinctive trends by race, ethnicity, and age, where black people reach mortality at an earlier age. Comorbidities in MS are associated with higher mortality and are more prevalent among non-white (NH) populations. However, it is unclear what comorbidities increase the risk of mortality in MS and if they differ by race and ethnicity. The objective of this study was to assess mortality trends in MS by race and ethnicity and comorbid medical conditions.
Methods
We used the compressed mortality data file for 2012–2023 in the Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system developed by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to calculate the age-adjusted (US 2000 standard population) and age-specific mortality of MS (per 100 000) by race and ethnicity and sex over time across NH white, NH black, Hispanic, and other race. Comorbidities were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition codes and examined for the 2012–2023 period.
Results
The average annual age-adjusted MS mortality rate was highest among NH black (1.56 for female and 0.97 for male individuals), immediately followed by NH white (1.54 for female and 0.92 for male individuals), and lowest among other races (0.18 for female and 0.11 for male individuals). An increasing trend in age-specific MS mortality was observed during 2012–2023 among all groups regardless of sex. MS mortality increased with age in both sexes and peaked at ages 75–84 for NH white and 65–74 for NH black people before declining substantially, while for Hispanic people, the risk increased substantially for female sex in 2018–2019 for ages 45–84. From 2019 to 2023, there was an increasing trend in hypertension-related mortality rate observed across NH white and NH black people. Higher mortality rates for cardiac arrest between 2019 and 2022 were exclusively noted in NH black people compared with other racial groups. Mortality rates in 2023 also differed by state in the United States.
Discussion
Mortality rates in MS disproportionately affect NH black individuals who experience death at a younger age. In addition, hypertension-related mortality also seems to have accelerated since 2018, highlighting the urgent need for early recognition and development of targeted public health strategies to reduce disparities and guide resource allocation.
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