Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis in Greece: A single-center study of the risk factors and a review of the literature

Abstract

Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) accounts for up to 10 % of the affected population. However, it remains an unexplored field in Greece, as no national registry or disease's atlas are currently available. Because of that, we conducted a single-center study. We searched the registries of our hospital during the period January 2010-September 2023 and catalogued 23 children that were under 16 years old when they were first hospitalized in our department and diagnosed with POMS. We compared our data collected to the available literature regarding demographics and the risk factors, and our findings in general meet the acquired POMS knowledge. Most of our children have vitamin D deficiency, previous EBV infection, whilst some of them have personal or family history of autoimmunity. The mean age of first diagnosis is 12.3 years, similar to the global mean age of POMS. Despite the findings obtained, more studies are essential in this field.

Keywords: Disease incidence; Greek registry; Pediatric neurology; Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis; Risk factors.