Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in the pediatric population of Sardinia, Italy

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory
demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS).
Several authors report MS affecting not only young adults but
also children and adolescents. Sardinia is one of the regions at
the highest risk for MS worldwide in the adult population; to
date, no definite data exist on the pediatric population. The
aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and prevalence
of pediatric MS (pMS) in northern Sardinia. Patients with
diagnosis of optic neuritis, myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), demyelinating disorders, MS, or clinically
isolated syndrome (CIS) according to McDonald criteria were
enrolled, when disease onset occurred within the range of
0–18 years. From January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2012, 21
cases of pMS and 5 cases of CIS were found in northern
Sardinia. The annual mean pMS incidence was 2.85 cases per
100,000 pediatric population, and the annual mean CIS incidence
was 0.68 cases per 100,000 pediatric population. The pMS and
CIS prevalence computed on 31 December 2012 was 26.92 and
6.41 per 100,000 pediatric population, respectively.
Conclusion: Our pMS data among Sardinians corroborate
the epidemiological scenario described in the adult population
being the incidence estimates significantly higher than those
reported elsewhere.