Record numbers of patients were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in Scotland last year.
During 2021, 578 people learnt they had the condition, up from 479 in 2020, as services caught up with a backlog of patients from the pandemic. Scotland has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world, with more than 15,000 people diagnosed.
Morna Simpkins, the director of the MS Society Scotland, said: “We don’t know for certain why people get MS but it’s likely to be a mixture of genetics, environmental conditions and lifestyle factors. . . There’s evidence to suggest people who have lower levels of vitamin D, particularly before they reach adulthood, could be at an increased risk of developing MS.
“The report says [the higher
