Euphrosyni Koutsouraki^1,, Aikaterini Fotakidou¹, Thalia Kalatha¹, Stavros Baloyannis¹

The epidemiologic profile of multiple sclerosis (MS), one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system, is not well defined in northern Greece. We analyzed retrospectively the records of the MS patients admitted in our Neurology Department, between the years 1979-2008. We studied a total of 1180 MS patients, with an average annual rate of 39 ± 11.8 MS patients, demonstrating a female to male ratio of 1.6:1. The estimated prevalence of MS in Thessaloniki, the largest city in northern Greece, on December 31 2008, was 57:100,000 placing the area in the high-risk zone while it was 6,8:100,000 on December 31, 1981, in the medium-risk zone. The mean age during the exacerbation of the disease was 28 ± 9 years for females and 31 ± 8 years for males, with significant difference between means (t = 5,8, p < 0,001). The average annual rate of attacks was 1.6 ± 0.7 per 100.000 population. Patients’ admissions was significantly less in winter with comparison to the other seasons (t = 3, p = 0,002). As far as monthly distribution, the maximum number of admissions was noted in May (121 patients, 10.25%) and September (118 patients, 10%) and the minimum in December (58 patients, 4.9%). Our study indicates an increase of the incidence of MS in northern Greece, central Macedonia prefecture and mainly in the city of Thessaloniki, during the last 30 years.

multiple sclerosis, epidemiologic data, northern Greece, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki