Demographic and clinical characterization of multiple sclerosis in Mexico: The REMEMBer study

Abstract

BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system with high prevalence in young adults around the world. The vast majority of epidemiological studies and statistics are based on European and American data, so most clinical guidelines and medical consensus are based on this information. There is very limited evidence in Mexico regarding demographic and clinical aspects of MS. Therefore, this study comprehensively described the epidemiological and clinical features of MS in a large cohort of patients from eight tertiary-level centers in Mexico. MethodsA cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted. A group of neurologists, the “Registro Mexicano de Esclerosis Multiple” (REMEMBer) group, compiled the information of MS patients (January to December 2019) from eight tertiary-level centers. Clinical and demographic data were extracted. ResultsA total of 1,185 patients were included. The mean age was 40.65 ± 11.43 years old. Women represented more than half of the whole cohort (64.9% vs. 35.1%). Of the whole cohort, forty-three percent of MS patients had a relative with at least one autoimmune disease (MS: 24%, other autoimmune disorders: 74.9%) or thyroid disease (28%). Furthermore, the mean age of clinical onset was 31.23 ± 9.71 (range: 16–68) years old, and the disease duration was 9.33 ± 7.25 (0.46–40.19) years. The most prevalent phenotype of MS was relapsing-remitting (87.76%). Primary (1.18%) and secondary (9.11%) progressive, as well as clinically isolated syndrome (CIS, 1.43%), were also found. Clinical phenotypes (facial, hearing, and speech disorders, and movement impairment and ataxia) and the frequency of thyroid disorders were different between genders. ConclusionIn Mexico, the frequency of MS seems to be higher in the female gender (2:1 women/men ratio) compared to other series. In addition, there was a predominance of facial, hearing and speech disorders, as well as movement impairment and ataxia. Thyroid diseases were more common in women with multiple sclerosis than men.