The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in the entre Douro e Vouga region of northern Portugal: a multisource population-based study

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Branco, M (Author) Other; Alves, I (Author) Other; da Silva, AM (Author) Other; Pinheiro, J (Author) Other; Sa, MJ (Author) Other; Correia, I (Author) Other; Sousa, L (Author) Other; Brandao, E (Author) Other; Veira, C (Author) Other; Gomes, B (Author) Other; Ruano, L (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: BMC Neurology

Vol. 20

ISSN: 1471-2377

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 5 Citations

Scopus - 5 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-5YQ

DOI: 10.1186/s12883-020-01755-8

Abstract (EN): Background The prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has been increasing worldwide and the north-south gradient of prevalence may be disappearing in the Northern hemisphere. The few previous prevalence studies performed in Portugal have reported a lower prevalence than the average for Western Europe. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of MS in the Entre Douro e Vouga region, in Northern Portugal. Methods Multiple overlapping sources were used to ascertain all cases from the reference population: records from hospitals in the region and neighbouring regions; diagnostic databases of primary care physicians; and applications for disability benefits. The prevalence date was set at 1 January 2014. The reference population was 274,859 inhabitants. Patients' neurologists were contacted to retrieve clinical information and confirm the diagnosis based. Results A total of 177 patients were identified after eliminating duplicates from different sources. The female to male ratio was 1.9 and the mean age at disease onset was 33.5 (standard deviation: 10.3). Clinically isolated syndrome accounted for 9.0% of patients, relapsing remitting for 58.8%, secondary progressive for 20.3% and primary progressive for 11.8%. The prevalence was estimated in 64.4 patients per 100,000 (95% confidence interval: 54.9;73.9). Conclusions In this study we report a higher point prevalence of MS than had been previously described in Portugal, but still far from the higher values recently reported in other Southern European countries.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7