Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Multiple Sclerosis in Rafsanjan City, Kerman Province, Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study from 2011 to 2020

Abstract

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system with variable epidemiology and clinical features. This study aimed to examine the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of MS in Rafsanjan City, Iran, from 2011 to 2020. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients diagnosed with MS and registered in the Committee for Diagnosis and Treatment of MS. Data were collected using a revised checklist of demographic and clinical variables. The annual incidence and prevalence of MS were calculated with a 95% confidence interval. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and chi-square or Fisher's exact test were used to analyze the data. Results: Out of 361 eligible cases, 220 patients with MS were enrolled. The mean age was 39.44 ± 9.71 years, with 82.3% females and a female-to-male ratio of 4.64. Most patients lived in urban areas (70.5%) and were housekeepers (55.9%). Most births occurred in spring (30.4%) and summer (35.5%). Only 13.2% had a positive family history of MS, and 2.3% had a smoking history. The most common initial symptoms were sensory (28.6%) and visual (17.7%). The dominant disease course was relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (79.1%), followed by RPMS (10.9%), PPMS (4.5%), SPMS (4.1%), and CIS (1.4%). The disease course was associated with several demographic and clinical variables. The incidence rate was 4.84 per 100,000, and the prevalence rate was 97.68 per 100,000. Conclusion: MS has a low incidence and prevalence rate in Rafsanjan City. MS mainly affects young urban women who are housekeepers. Sensory and visual impairments are the most frequent initial manifestations, and RRMS is the most common disease course.