About multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis statistics

Multiple sclerosis can target any person at any time, but statistics show that some people are more likely to suffer from it than others. MS organizations have estimated that 2.5 million people are living with MS worldwide. The ratio of women with MS to men with the disease is 2 to 1, and most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

Statistics show that countries further from the equator have more cases of multiple sclerosis than those closer to the equator. However, a child who relocates from an area of low risk to an area of high risk (or the other way around) takes on the risk level of the new location. However, the child retains the risk level of the original location if they relocate after reaching puberty.

Approximately 85 percent of patients are diagnosed with Relapsing-remitting MS at onset, and about 50 percent of them transition to secondary-progressive MS (SPMS) within a decade of the initial diagnosis. Primary-progressive MS (PPMS) is diagnosed in about 10 percent of MS patients at onset, and progressive-relapsing MS (PRMS) is the rarest form of MS, representing about 5 percent.

Multiple sclerosis is an expensive disease to treat. It is estimated that approximately $8.500-54.000 is needed annually for one patient’s treatment.

Approximately 10 to 20 percent of people with MS have a benign course of the disease. This means they have only mild symptoms and little disease progression. However, some of them might experience a progression after 10 to 20 years. About 1 percent of patients develop an aggressive form of MS that progresses very rapidly.