2010 MS Prevalence in the US Highest Ever to Date

The estimated US national multiple sclerosis (MS) prevalence for 2010 is the highest reported to date and provides evidence that the north-south gradient persists, according to a recent study. A validated algorithm was applied to private, military, and public agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) datasets to identify adult cases of MS between 2008 and 2010. In each dataset, researchers determined the 3-year cumulative prevalence overall and stratified by age, sex, and census region. They applied insurance-specific and stratum-specific estimates to the 2010 US Census data and pooled the findings to calculate the 2010 prevalence of MS in the US cumulated over 3 years. They also estimated the 2010 prevalence cumulated over 10 years using 2 models and extrapolated their estimate to 2017. They found:

• The estimated 2010 prevalence of MS in the US adult population cumulated over 10 years was 309.2 per 100,000, representing 727,344 cases.
• During the same time period, the MS prevalence was 450.1 per 100,000 for women and 159.7 for men (female:male ratio 2:8).
• The estimated 2010 prevalence of MS was highest in the 55- to 64-year age group.
• A US north-south decreasing prevalence gradient was identified.

Wallin MT, Culpepper WJ, Campbell JD, et al. The prevalence of MS in the United States. A population-based estimate using health claims data. [Published online ahead of print February 15, 2019]. Neurology. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000007035.