EPIDEMIOLOGY

Multiple Sclerosis
ATLAS OF MS 2013: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION
The estimated number of people with MS
has increased from 2.1 million in 2008 to
2.3 million in 2013

Survey findings reinforce the fact that MS
is twice as common among women than
men.

The average age of MS onset is 30
years.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: PREVALENCE
Globally, the median estimated
prevalence is 30 per 100 000 (with a range
of 580)
Regionally, the median estimated
prevalence is greatest in Europe (80 per
100 000), followed by the Eastern
Mediterranean, the Americas , the
Western Pacific, South-East Asia and
Africa

[Atlas multiple sclerosis resources in the
world. World Health Organization, 2008 ]

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: INCIDENCE
Globally, the median estimated incidence is
2.5 per 100 000 (with a range of 1.14).
Regionally, the median estimated incidence
is greatest in Europe (3.8 per 100 000)
followed by the Eastern Mediterranean (2),
the Americas (1.5), the Western Pacific (0.9)
and Africa (0.1). No countries in South-East
Asia provided data.

[Atlas multiple sclerosis resources in the
world. World Health Organization, 2008 ]

IMPLICATIONS
This study confirms that MS is a global
disease and not a disease solely of the more
developed northern & western countries.

(+)strong geographical patterns to the disease

Frequency of MS varies by geographical
region throughout the world, increasing with
distance from the equator in both
hemispheres.
The data support that MS is more common
among women than men and that symptoms
appear at around 30 years of age,

In the Philippines, an estimated 8,400 people
suffer from Multiple Sclerosis.




[Multiple Sclerosis Society of the Philippines]