Prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Guangzhou, China: A population-based case-finding prospective study

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is rare in China, and the prevalence previously reported may be biased. Currently, few studies that have investigated the prevalence of MS in China based on the latest diagnostic criteria.

Through a population-based survey from August 8, 2021 to December 31, 2021, we calculated the prevalence of multiple sclerosis in 18,676,605 residents of Guangzhou, China. MS patients were identified through the health insurance system of the Guangzhou Health Insurance Bureau, and we surveyed 17 large tertiary hospitals using a case-finding approach. All MS patients were diagnosed according to the 2017 McDonald criteria.

A total of 143 patients in the resident population of Guangzhou were diagnosed with MS, with a crude prevalence of 0.77 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65-0.90), and the prevalence was higher in in females (1.14/100,000) than in males (0.44/100,000). The age-adjusted prevalence was 0.92 per 100,000 (95% CI: 0.77-1.10). The prevalence peaked at the age of 25-29 years (2.86/100,000) for both males and females (1.44/100,000 and 4.42/100,000, respectively).

This is the first study to report the prevalence of MS in Guangzhou, China, according to the criteria. Our study shows that the prevalence of MS in Guangzhou is lower than that in other cities in China.