Frequency distribution of the first clinical symptoms in the Iranian population with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Initial symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) may be varied and nonspecific. We tried to find the frequency distribution of the first clinical symptoms in Iranian patients with MS. METHODS: In a case series study, 1130 patients with definite diagnosis of MS who had been referred to three referral university hospitals of Tehran, Iran, were enrolled. The patients’ medical records were reviewed for neurological history to find the first symptom at presentation. RESULTS: 884 (78.2%) patients were female and 246 (21.8%) were male. The mean ± SD age of patients was 31.4 ± 9.1 years. The most common initial symptoms were motor in 492 (43.5%), ocular in 366 (32.4%), cerebellar in 91 (8.1%), sensory in 76 (6.7%), cranial nerve involvement in 51 (4.5%), and fatigue in 23 (2%) patients. There was no difference between female and male patients in first clinical symptoms (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The motor symptoms were the most common finding at presentation in the Iranian population with MS. Complementary studies with larger sample sizes are needed to increase the external validity.