Clinical and epidemiological profile of multiple sclerosis in a reference center in the State of Bahia, Brazil

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, demyelinating and degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. Its prevalence and clinical aspects vary according to the continent considered, being more frequent in Caucasians and young individuals aged 20 to 40 years. Epidemiological data from Brazil show that prevalence is variable, being more frequent in the Southern and Southeastern areas of the country, rather than in the Northern and Northeastern areas. The purpose of this paper is to describe MS clinical and epidemiological features in the State of Bahia, in the Brazilian Northeastern region. Thus, we held a cross-sectional study over the period from February to May, 2005, in the Multiple Sclerosis Patient Support Center ("Núcleo de Apoio aos Pacientes com Esclerose Múltipla") of Bahia, which included all patients with a diagnosis of MS seen over this period of time. A total of 121 patients were investigated, being 80.2% females (female:male ratio=4:1), with higher frequency in mulatto individuals (64%), and the relapsing-remitting type (91.3%). Most patients (68.7%) had mild MS, and blacks were prone to worse prognosis compared to other patients.