Observational Record Study of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Presenting to the Neurology Outpatient Clinic of Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine Hospital

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, demyelinating, and neurodegenerative disease with complex etiological factors. Variability in the MS distribution has spurred numerous studies linking it to the environmental and genetic factors. This study aimed to evaluate the demographic, environmental, clinical, and radiological attributes of patients with MS in relation to established and emerging risk factors.
METHODS: A cross-sectional assessment of 250 patients (out of 607 initially examined) was conducted from the Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine Neurology Outpatient Clinic, noting their clinical and laboratory data. These data were subsequently acquired from hospital records. Statistical analyses included the use of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Student’s t-test, analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman’s correlation analysis.
RESULTS: The mean age of patients with MS was 40.31±11.6 years, with women constituting 70.7% of all patients. The main initial attack symptoms corresponded with the following lesion sites: supratentorial (38.7%), brainstem (32.4%), optic nerve (22.3%), and spinal region (6.7%). Lifestyle factors revealed that 55.6% of patients consumed salty foods and 48.4% smoked. Furthermore, a significant 68.8% of patients were found to have vitamin D (vitD) deficiency, with an average level of 16.3±8.41 ng/mL. A significant correlation was observed between vitD deficiency and increased disability (as measured by the expanded disability status scale) and lesion counts.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study reinforces the association between vitD deficiency and the progression and severity of MS. The findings highlight the need for addressing modifiable risk factors such as vitD intake, smoking, and dietary habits for the management and prevention of MS.