Jewish Immigrants Of Middle Eastern Origin Have a Lower Incidence Of Multiple Myeloma Compared To Both North African and European Jews In a Cohort Of 746,200 Israeli Men Followed From Late Adolescence

Differences in the prevalence of Multiple Myeloma across races have been observed, with a two to three fold greater prevalence of Multiple Myeloma in African Americans compared with Caucasians. Little is known about the incidence or prevalence of Multiple Myeloma in other populations.

The association between father's country of origin and the incidence of Multiple Myeloma was examined in a nationwide population-based cohort.

Health-related data on 746,200 16-19 year old Jewish males examined for fitness for military service between 1967 and 1998 were linked to the Israel National Cancer Registry to derive Multiple Myeloma incidence up to 2006.

During 17,352,349 person-years of follow-up, 109 examinees developed plasma cell dyscrasias. West Asian origin (predominantly Middle Eastern) was protective compared to European (predominantly Ashkenazi) origin (HR 0.40; 95% CI 0.23-0.70; p=0.001). The association persisted when adjusted for year of birth (HR 0.39; 95% CI 0.22-0.68; p=0.001), and also when restricted to Israeli-born males (HR 0.44; 95% CI 0.24-0.82; p=0.01).

In conclusion, adolescents of Middle Eastern origin are at persistently lower risk of developing Multiple Myeloma compared to European origin, suggesting a genetic background in the pathogenesis of Multiple Myeloma.