The age at onset of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis has increased over the last five decades

•Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) onset usually occurs between age 20 and 40 years.•This study investigated how age at RRMS onset has changed over the past decades.•The cohort was stratified according to decade in which the first symptoms appeared.•The ages at RRMS onset were progressiv...

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Published in:Multiple sclerosis and related disorders 2022-12, Vol.68, p.104103-104103, Article 104103
Main Authors: Romero-Pinel, Lucía, Bau, Laura, Matas, Elisabet, León, Isabel, Muñoz-Vendrell, Albert, Arroyo, Pablo, Masuet-Aumatell, Cristina, Martínez-Yélamos, Antonio, Martínez-Yélamos, Sergio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age at onset
Age of Onset
Disease course
Epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis - diagnosis
Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - diagnosis
Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - epidemiology
Relapsing-remitting
Young Adult
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Summary:•Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) onset usually occurs between age 20 and 40 years.•This study investigated how age at RRMS onset has changed over the past decades.•The cohort was stratified according to decade in which the first symptoms appeared.•The ages at RRMS onset were progressively higher in the later decades. Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) most commonly experience their first symptoms between 20 and 40 years of age. The objective of this study was to investigate how the age at which the first symptoms of RRMS occur has changed over the past decades. Patients who were followed up in our unit after an initial diagnosis of RRMS using the Poser or McDonald criteria and who experienced their first symptoms between January 1970 and December 2019 were included in the study. The cohort was divided into five groups according to the decade in which the first symptoms appeared. The age at disease onset was compared across decades. Changes in age were also determined after excluding patients with early-onset disease (50 years of age) to avoid bias. The cohort included 1,622 patients with RRMS, 67.6% of whom were women. Among them, 5.9% and 4% had early-onset and late-onset disease, respectively. The mean age ± standard deviation at onset was 31.11 ± 9.82 years, with no differences between men and women. The mean ages at onset were 23.79 ± 10.19 years between 1970 and 1979, 27.86 ± 9.22 years between 1980 and 1989, 30.07 ± 9.32 years between 1990 and 1999, 32.12 ± 9.47 between 2000 and 2009, and 34.28 ± 9.83 years between 2010 and 2019. The ages at disease onset were progressively higher in the later decades; this trend was statistically significant (p 
ISSN:2211-0348
2211-0356
DOI:10.1016/j.msard.2022.104103