Multiple sclerosis in Kenya: Demographic and clinical characteristics of a registry cohort.
Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin
; 7(2): 20552173211022782, 2021.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34188951
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the leading cause of non-traumatic neurological disability in young adults. There is limited literature regarding the burden of MS in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).OBJECTIVE:
To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with MS (PwMS) presenting to a tertiary referral hospital in Nairobi.METHODS:
We conducted a retrospective descriptive study for PwMS presenting to Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi from 2008-2018.RESULTS:
99 cases met the diagnostic criteria for MS with a male to female ratio of 14. Majority (68.7%) of PwMS were indigenous Africans with a mean age of onset of 30.7 years. Mean duration from symptom onset to first neuro-imaging was 5.04 years. Only 33% of patients had sensory symptoms at onset whereas 54.5% had vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. Majority (79.5%) had relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) and 56.6% were initiated on disease modifying therapy (DMT). Only 21.2% of patients on DMT were non-compliant. Patients with RRMS were more likely to be initiated on DMT at our hospital (p < 0.001).CONCLUSION:
Clinical characteristics of these patients largely resemble those of other SSA cohorts and African American patients. There was a delay between symptom onset and neuroimaging. There were also issues with DMT compliance.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Kenya