TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis in the Republic of Moldova
AU - Marcoci, Cristina
AU - Lisnic, Vitalie
AU - Gavriliuc, Mihail
AU - Odainic, Olesea
AU - Sangheli, Marina
AU - Belenciuc, Anna
AU - Leone, Maurizio Angelo
AU - Casetta, Ilaria
AU - Pugliatti, Maura
PY - 2016/2/6
Y1 - 2016/2/6
N2 - Background: The occurrence of multiple sclerosis (MS) increases in populations featuring both high and low disease burden, and variations across regions at the same latitude are reported. MS epidemiological data in Eastern Europe are scarce and out of date. We report on sex- and age-specific prevalence of MS in the Republic of Moldova. Methods: Benefitting from a nationwide survey aimed to quantify the MS burden in Moldovans (3,559,541 population in 2012), multiple epidemiological sources were scrutinized. Results: On prevalence day, December 31, 2012, 747 MS patients (McDonald criteria) resided in the study area, yielding a crude prevalence of 20.9 per 100,000 (95% CI 14.7-27.1), 25.7 (95% CI 20.5-30.5) in women and 15.8 (95% CI 12.2-19.3) in men (F:M ratio of 1.63), and standardized estimates of 20.2, 24.3 and 15.5 per 100,000, respectively. Prevalence was highest in the age group 40-49 years (43.9 per 100,000) and higher in rural (72.6%) than in urban (27.4%) areas. Conclusions: This is the first report on sex- and age-specific prevalence of MS in the Republic of Moldova, which was lower than in Europe on average, but consistent with that of neighboring countries, Romania and Ukraine. Moldovans represent a population wherein MS natural history is not yet influenced by use of disease-modifying drugs.
AB - Background: The occurrence of multiple sclerosis (MS) increases in populations featuring both high and low disease burden, and variations across regions at the same latitude are reported. MS epidemiological data in Eastern Europe are scarce and out of date. We report on sex- and age-specific prevalence of MS in the Republic of Moldova. Methods: Benefitting from a nationwide survey aimed to quantify the MS burden in Moldovans (3,559,541 population in 2012), multiple epidemiological sources were scrutinized. Results: On prevalence day, December 31, 2012, 747 MS patients (McDonald criteria) resided in the study area, yielding a crude prevalence of 20.9 per 100,000 (95% CI 14.7-27.1), 25.7 (95% CI 20.5-30.5) in women and 15.8 (95% CI 12.2-19.3) in men (F:M ratio of 1.63), and standardized estimates of 20.2, 24.3 and 15.5 per 100,000, respectively. Prevalence was highest in the age group 40-49 years (43.9 per 100,000) and higher in rural (72.6%) than in urban (27.4%) areas. Conclusions: This is the first report on sex- and age-specific prevalence of MS in the Republic of Moldova, which was lower than in Europe on average, but consistent with that of neighboring countries, Romania and Ukraine. Moldovans represent a population wherein MS natural history is not yet influenced by use of disease-modifying drugs.
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Multiple sclerosis
KW - Prevalence
KW - Republic of Moldova#
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U2 - 10.1159/000443931
DO - 10.1159/000443931
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84957899691
SP - 166
EP - 172
JO - Neuroepidemiology
JF - Neuroepidemiology
SN - 0251-5350
ER -