Multiple sclerosis in Kenya: Demographic and clinical characteristics of a registry cohort.

BackgroundMultiple 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).ObjectiveTo describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with MS (PwMS) presenting to a tertiary referral hospital in Nairobi.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective descriptive study for PwMS presenting to Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi from 2008-2018.Results99 cases met the diagnostic criteria for MS with a male to female ratio of 1:4. 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 ConclusionClinical 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.