Objective:

We aimed to examine changes in age at death related to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) from 1999-2023, highlighting sex-based disparities.

Background:

Survival of people with MS (pwMS) has improved over the last two decades, due to remarkable advancements in diagnosis and treatment. However, pwMS still have shortened life expectancies by 7-14 years. Epidemiological MS data that recognizes mortality age based on sex and evolution through time remain limited.

Design/Methods:

This is a population-based study that utilized data concerning MS-related deaths (MSRD) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiological Research (CDC-WONDER) records of mortality. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code G35 was used to identify and extract data regarding MS. Data from two periods (1999-2017 and 2018-2023) were extracted and stratified by sex. Histograms and Kernel density plots were generated to represent the data.

Results:

During the study period, there were 145,547 deaths, 96,009 of which were female (67.8%) and 45,538 of which were male (32.2%). There was an observed increase in the mean age of death from 62.6 (1999-2017) to 67.3 (2018-2023). In female individuals, the mean age of death increased from 63.9 (1999-2017) to 68.1 (2018-2023). In male individuals, the mean age of death changed from 62.5 (1999-2017) to 66.2 (2018-2023).

Conclusions:

These findings highlight the sex-based differences in the survival of pwMS, with a persistent gap between male and female individuals over time. This study may provide insight into epidemiological changes in pwMS and their survival, and guide future studies that examine the underlying causes of death and their sex-based differences.