Background and purpose: Prevalence data are needed to reveal trends regarding the pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) situation worldwide. The aim was to identify changes in MS diagnosis prevalence in pediatric patients over a 10-year period in Germany.
Methods: This analysis is based on nationwide outpatient claims data of children aged <18 years covered by the German statutory health insurance (n = 11,381,939 in 2018). People with MS (PwMS) had ≥1 documented MS diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, German modification code G35.x). The annual pediatric MS diagnosis prevalence was analyzed regarding age, sex, and place of residence during 2009-2018.
Results: The prevalence of pediatric MS developed from 5.3 (2009) to 5.4 (2018)/100,000 insured population aged <18 years. The MS prevalence in patients aged 15-17 years showed a moderate increase over 10 years (19.6-22.7/100,000), whereas patients ≤14 years old showed a slight decrease (1.9-1.7/100,000). The sex ratio (female:male) in 2018 was relatively balanced in PwMS aged ≤14 years (1.32) but female-dominated in those aged 15-17 years (2.47). The formerly different prevalence of pediatric MS between East and West Germany has converged since 2012.
Conclusions: So far, this is the largest study of pediatric MS prevalence in terms of source population size (87% of German children <18 years of age, n = 11,381,939 in 2018) and study period (2009-2018) worldwide. The analyses revealed an increase in MS prevalence and a female-dominated sex ratio in "older" adolescents compared to younger patients.
Keywords: diagnosis; epidemiology; multiple sclerosis; pediatric; prevalence.
© 2021 European Academy of Neurology.