Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in Qom: Demographic study in Iran

BACKGROUND Recent studies have demonstrated controversial results and somewhat increased frequency of multiple sclerosis (MS). We reevaluated the files of MS patients from Qom Province of Iran in order to investigate the epidemiology of the disease. METHODS Demographic and clinical records of 592 MS patients were reviewed, which included; age, sex, date of birth, marital and occupation status, presenting symptoms, time of onset, type and family history of MS, and history of autoimmune or other diseases. RESULTS At the time of our study, 11 patients had died, and 581 were alive with a total female-to-male ratio of 3.4. The mean age of onset of the disease was 34.25 ± 9.01 for all the patients. 11.2% of patients had positive family history of MS. The majority of patients (80.1%) showed relapsing-remitting (RR) pattern. The prevalence of MS was calculated as 50.4/100000 for Qom. CONCLUSION Qom is located within a high risk zone of MS. Although we found evidences about the role of environmental factors, geographical distribution, and etcetera, many more studies need to be performed in this respect.