Most workers in the field have observed a higher incidence in the young adult population afflicted in countries of higher socio-economic development whereas the incidence in older patients does not seem to follow this pattern and may obey the converse pattern (i.e. be more common in areas of lesser socio-economic development).
Males are affected by the disease more commonly than females and in the ratio of 1.4:1.0.
No one causative agent has been identified but interest in a possible viral trigger is still very much discussed with the EB virus as the agent under closest scrutiny. Patients with a history of past EB virus related mononucleosis have a higher incidence of later Hodgkin's disease and EB virus is detectable within the RS cells in at least 50% of cases of the disease - particularly those with mixed cellularity Hodgkin's disease. However, the fact that the virus is not detectable in all cases infers that the situation is more complex than a simple infection trigger alone.
Ther is a slight familial tendency of developing the disease but whether this necessarily implies a genetic factor is also a topic of debate (as shared environment is also a factor that cannot be dismissed amongst fammilies)
