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Aims: To study incident narcolepsy in first‐ and second‐generation immigrant groups using Swedish‐born individuals and native Swedes as referents. Methods: The study population included all individuals registered and alive in Sweden at baseline. Narcolepsy was defined as having at least one registered diagnosis of narcolepsy in the Swedish National Patient Register. The incidence of narcolepsy in different immigrant groups was assessed by Cox regression, with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The models were stratified by sex and adjusted for age, geographical residence in Sweden, educational level, marital status, co‐morbidities, and neighbourhood socioeconomic status. Results: In the first‐generation study, 1225 narcolepsy cases were found; 465 males and 760 females, and in the second‐generation study, 1710 cases, 702 males and 1008 females. Fully adjusted HRs (95% CI) in the first‐generation study was for males 0.83 (0.61–1.13) and females 0.83 (0.64–1.07), and in the second‐generation study for males 0.76 (0.60–0.95) and females 0.91 (95% CI 0.76–1.09). Statistically significant excess risks of narcolepsy were found in first‐generation males from North America, and second‐generation males with parents from North America, and second‐generation females with parents from Latin America. Conclusions: There were only significant differences in incident narcolepsy between native Swedes and second‐generation male immigrants. The observed differences can partly be explained by differences in Pandemrix® vaccinations and are probably not attributable to genetic differences between immigrants and natives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) is low among first‐generation immigrants in Sweden. We aimed to study incident MS in first‐ and second‐generation immigrant groups. Materials & Methods: We included adults aged 18 years and older in Sweden in first‐generation (n = 6 042 891) and second‐generation (n = 4 860 469) sub‐studies. MS was defined via two diagnoses in the Swedish National Patient Register. MS risk was estimated by Cox regression, with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), in different immigrant groups, using Swedish‐born as referents in first‐generation sub‐study, and individuals with Swedish‐born parents in the second‐generation. Full models were adjusted for age, geographic residence in Sweden, educational level, marital status, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and co‐morbidity. Results: MS was diagnosed among 10 746 individuals in the first‐generation sub‐study, (men 3055 and women 7691), and 11 737 in the second‐generation sub‐study (men 3549 and women 8188) in the period 1998‐2015. The annual incidence rate was higher in Swedish‐born compared to foreign‐born, 11.5 vs 6.3 per 100 000 person‐years (age‐standardized to the European standard population). Fully adjusted HRs were lower in first‐generation immigrant men (HR 0.72, 0.64‐0.82) and women (HR 0.67, 0.62‐0.73), and in second‐generation immigrant men (HR 0.88, 0.79‐0.97) and women (HR 0.79; 0.73‐0.84). Among first‐generation immigrants, lower HRs were found in most groups. Significance: The MS risk was lower in first‐ and second‐generation immigrants compared to Swedish‐born or individuals with Swedish‐born parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a lack of studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) in immigrants. Objective: To study the association between country of birth and incident PD in immigrants in Sweden versus Swedish-born individuals. Methods: Study population included all adults aged 50 years and older in Sweden (n = 2775736). PD was defined as having at least one registered diagnosis of PD in the National Patient Register. The incidence of PD in different first-generation immigrant groups versus Swedish-born individuals was assessed by Cox regression, expressed as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The models were stratified by sex and adjusted for age, geographical residence in Sweden, educational level, marital status, neighbourhood socioeconomic status and co-morbidity. Results: Totally 35833 individuals had an incident diagnosis of PD (20401 men and 15432 women). Incidence rates per 100,000 person-years were for all Swedish-born 95.9 and for all foreign-born 60.1; for all men 112.3 and for all women 73.4, with a male to female ratio of 1.53, with the highest incidence rates for the group 80–84 years of age. After adjusting for potential confounders, the overall relative risk of PD was lower in immigrant men (HR 0.78; 95% CI 0.74–0.82) and women (HR 0.92; 95% CI 0.87–0.98). Among immigrant subgroups, a higher risk of PD was found among women from Finland (HR 1.13; 95% CI 1.05–1.23). Conclusion: In general, the risk of PD was lower in first-generation immigrant men and women compared to Swedish-born. The only group with a higher risk of PD was women from Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to study the association between country of birth and incident epilepsy in several immigrant groups using Swedish-born individuals as referents.Method: The study population included all adults aged 18 years and older in Sweden, living and deceased, 6,690,598 in the first-generation and 6,683,125 in the second-generation sub-study. Epilepsy was defined as having at least one registered diagnosis of epilepsy in the National Patient Register. The incidence of epilepsy in different immigrant groups, using Swedish-born as referents, was assessed by Cox regression, expressed as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI). The models were stratified by sex and adjusted for age, geographical residence in Sweden, educational level, marital status, and neighbourhood socioeconomic status.Results: In the first-generation sub-study, totally 76,541 individuals had at least one registered diagnosis of epilepsy (1.14 % in total; men 1.22 % and women 1.07 %), and in the second-generation study 72,545 (1.09 %; men 1.18 % and women 0.99 %). After adjusting for confounders, in first-generation immigrants compared to their Swedish-born counterparts the incidence was somewhat lower among both men (HR 0.92, 0.90-0.96) and women (HR 0.93, 0.90-0.96), and in the second-generation immigrants among women (HR 0.95, 0.92-0.99) but not men (HR 0.99; 0.96-1.02). Among immigrant groups, a higher incidence of epilepsy was observed among first-generation women from Africa and Iraq, and second-generation men and women from Bosnia, and women from Finland.Conclusions: Risk of epilepsy was lower in immigrants in general compared to the Swedish-born population; but with higher incidence in some specific groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]