Determining the Frequency Distribution of Ocular Manifestations in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Introduction: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling neurological disease in young people. It is estimated that about 2 million people in the world suffer from this disease. Ocular involvement is one of the most prevalent clinical signs of MS. It is said that 25% of individuals suffer from vision problems during the development of disease. Therefore, this study was conducted in Yazd due to its climate changes and lack of study in this regard. Methods: This study is a cross sectional type, conducted with the aim of studying the frequency of eye symptoms in MS patients referring to the Shahid Sadoughi Yazd ophthalmology Clinic from 2012 to 2014. The Sample size includes 150 patients who referred to the clinic. The tool for gathering information was a questionnaire. After gathering 150 samples, all the data was coded and entered into the computer. Results were analyzed by SPSS18, descriptive statistics, and Chi 2 test. Results: The examined patients included 150 MS patients aged 33.48 years on average and with 28.43 years the onset age of disease examined. This study shows that blurred vision rate of 78.7% and the diplopia rate of 56% were the most prevalent vision complaints of patients from the starting the disease until examination. Optic atrophy with 14.7% and optic neuritis with 12% were the most common ocular findings in the examination. Conclusion: We can conclude that vision disorders are the common consequences of MS. These disorders are accompanied by factors such as age, sex, residence, and family background. Therefore, it is necessary to take the patients’ demographic characteristics into account in their initial examinations.