Can Multiple Sclerosis Result in Premature Death?

To examine mortality associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), investigators in Canada used public health records linked to ICD-10 diagnostic coding, permitting both primary and contributing causes of death to be systematically evaluated. Each MS case in the dataset was matched to five control cases.

The study included 5797 individuals with MS and 28,807 matched controls. Mean age at MS diagnosis was 41 years, and mean duration of follow-up was 13 years. In the MS population, comorbidities included anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, and migraine, among others. Median survival was 76 years in the MS cohort and 83 years in the control cohort. The MS population had a 2.1-fold increased hazard of death. Death w…