Demographic and disease characteristics of multiple sclerosis in the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To study the basic demographic and disease characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Southwest Region of the Kingdom of Saudi arabia. METHODS: This is a retrospective study on demographics and risk factors of 82 MS cases registered in the Armed Forces Hospital, Khamis Mushayt, and the Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted from April 2017 to April 2018. Data was gathered through interview questionnaires and review of medical records. Frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations (SD) were used for descriptive statistics. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to investigate differences between male and female patients at 95% confidence intervals (CI). Differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. RESULTS: Out of the total of 82 patients, 50 were female, yielding a female-to-male ratio of 1.56:1. The mean age at disease diagnosis was 30.50±9.29 years. As compared to females, the proportion of male patients in the younger age group at disease diagnosis was significantly higher (78.1%, p=0.003) than that in the older age group. Mean disease duration was 4.07±3.65 years. The most common variant of the disease was the remitting-relapsing type (64.6%). Optic symptoms (37.8%) were the most common predominant symptom at diagnosis. CONCLUSION: This study provides the baseline information about patients with MS in the Aseer region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and offers useful insights into male-female differences in the manifestation of this disease. Further prospective studies are needed.