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Correlations of the Earth's Magnetic Field Intensity with Global Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis

Published: 2 April 2013
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Abstract

The Earth's magnetic (geomagnetic) field protects all living things on the planet from harmful effects of ioniz-ing and electromagnetic radiation and is suggested, in this research, to be related to global multiple sclerosis (MS) preva-lence. MS is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system with an unknown aetiology. MS has a global, geograph-ic pattern of prevalence that shows high prevalence rates of the disease between 40 and 60 degrees north. Numerous ex-ogenous variables have been suggested to be factors in the expression of the disease but to date there is no single variable which best explains the pathological process. Excessive free radical formation appears to be a common factor in many of the previously correlated variables with MS. This study hypothesized that the vertical or horizontal geomagnetic field strength (or intensity) are more strongly correlated with global MS prevalence rates. Using data from available MS preva-lence studies (N=131) and online geomagnetic data for the field intensities, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed. The results support the hypotheses with the strongest correlation being an inverse relationship between the horizontal field and global MS prevalence (r = -.607). The explanation for the inverse relationship with global MS prevalence and the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field is explained by protective effect from incoming cosmic radiation. This research suggests that living in areas of a weak horizontal field increases exposure to ionizing radia-tion and therefore increases the risk for developing MS. We propose a new scale of MS prevalence which captures the very high prevalence rates in some areas of the world.

Published in American Journal of Life Sciences (Volume 1, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12
Page(s) 31-36
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Multiple Sclerosis, Correlations, Environment, Geomagnetic Field, Prevalence, Radiation, Variables

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Brett Wade, Shashi Mehta, Vladimir Papitashvili. (2013). Correlations of the Earth's Magnetic Field Intensity with Global Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis. American Journal of Life Sciences, 1(2), 31-36. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12

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    ACS Style

    Brett Wade; Shashi Mehta; Vladimir Papitashvili. Correlations of the Earth's Magnetic Field Intensity with Global Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis. Am. J. Life Sci. 2013, 1(2), 31-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12

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    AMA Style

    Brett Wade, Shashi Mehta, Vladimir Papitashvili. Correlations of the Earth's Magnetic Field Intensity with Global Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis. Am J Life Sci. 2013;1(2):31-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12,
      author = {Brett Wade and Shashi Mehta and Vladimir Papitashvili},
      title = {Correlations of the Earth's Magnetic Field Intensity with Global Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis},
      journal = {American Journal of Life Sciences},
      volume = {1},
      number = {2},
      pages = {31-36},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.20130102.12},
      abstract = {The Earth's magnetic (geomagnetic) field protects all living things on the planet from harmful effects of ioniz-ing and electromagnetic radiation and is suggested, in this research, to be related to global multiple sclerosis (MS) preva-lence. MS is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system with an unknown aetiology. MS has a global, geograph-ic pattern of prevalence that shows high prevalence rates of the disease between 40 and 60 degrees north. Numerous ex-ogenous variables have been suggested to be factors in the expression of the disease but to date there is no single variable which best explains the pathological process. Excessive free radical formation appears to be a common factor in many of the previously correlated variables with MS. This study hypothesized that the vertical or horizontal geomagnetic field strength (or intensity) are more strongly correlated with global MS prevalence rates. Using data from available MS preva-lence studies (N=131) and online geomagnetic data for the field intensities, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed. The results support the hypotheses with the strongest correlation being an inverse relationship between the horizontal field and global MS prevalence (r = -.607). The explanation for the inverse relationship with global MS prevalence and the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field is explained by protective effect from incoming cosmic radiation. This research suggests that living in areas of a weak horizontal field increases exposure to ionizing radia-tion and therefore increases the risk for developing MS. We propose a new scale of MS prevalence which captures the very high prevalence rates in some areas of the world.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Correlations of the Earth's Magnetic Field Intensity with Global Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis
    AU  - Brett Wade
    AU  - Shashi Mehta
    AU  - Vladimir Papitashvili
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12
    T2  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    JF  - American Journal of Life Sciences
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20130102.12
    AB  - The Earth's magnetic (geomagnetic) field protects all living things on the planet from harmful effects of ioniz-ing and electromagnetic radiation and is suggested, in this research, to be related to global multiple sclerosis (MS) preva-lence. MS is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system with an unknown aetiology. MS has a global, geograph-ic pattern of prevalence that shows high prevalence rates of the disease between 40 and 60 degrees north. Numerous ex-ogenous variables have been suggested to be factors in the expression of the disease but to date there is no single variable which best explains the pathological process. Excessive free radical formation appears to be a common factor in many of the previously correlated variables with MS. This study hypothesized that the vertical or horizontal geomagnetic field strength (or intensity) are more strongly correlated with global MS prevalence rates. Using data from available MS preva-lence studies (N=131) and online geomagnetic data for the field intensities, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed. The results support the hypotheses with the strongest correlation being an inverse relationship between the horizontal field and global MS prevalence (r = -.607). The explanation for the inverse relationship with global MS prevalence and the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field is explained by protective effect from incoming cosmic radiation. This research suggests that living in areas of a weak horizontal field increases exposure to ionizing radia-tion and therefore increases the risk for developing MS. We propose a new scale of MS prevalence which captures the very high prevalence rates in some areas of the world.
    VL  - 1
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Therapist Assistant Program, Okanagan College, Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 4X8 Canada

  • University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Stanley S Bergen Bldg, 65 Bergen St. 152. Newark, NJ, 07107-1709, U. S. A.

  • Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230, U. S. A.

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