Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in the city of Novosibirsk

In the era of controlled disease progression, our study showed an increase in the prevalence of MS from 2003 to 2023 (54.4 to 137.83 per 100 thousand population). The dynamics of the sex ratio of patients with MS in Novosibirsk does not demonstrate the global trend with a 3-4-fold increase in the proportion of women. An increase in the incidence of MS was noted from 2003 to 2023 (<i>p<</i>0.05), mainly due to women (<i>p<</i>0.05). The age of MS onset has increased significantly over the 20-year period (27.73±0.6 years in 2003; 30.479±0.329 years in 2023). A separate trend towards an increase in the incidence of early-onset and late-onset MS is shown (<i>r</i>_xy=0.45, <i>p=</i>0.041 and <i>r</i>_xy=0.622, <i>p=</i>0.003, respectively). In part, the increase in the epidemiological characteristics of MS is associated with a decrease in the «onset-diagnosis» interval (<i>p<</i>0.05), which is due to improved diagnostic criteria and health care services.