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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating and degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterised by multifocal brain and spinal cord lesions. It is most commonly diagnosed in people of working age (~20–50 years) and is the leading cause of non‐traumatic chronic neurological disability in young adults in many high-income countries. There were 33 335 people living with MS in Australia in 2021, and 2917 in New Zealand in 2006, and the prevalence and incidence are increasing with time. Factors contributing to this trend include improved diagnosis, improved registry data, improved life expectancy of people with MS, and potentially increased exposure to risk factors for MS such as adolescent obesity, smoking, reduced sun exposure, and reduced parity.

This MJA Consensus Statement shares more.

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Authors: Jessica Shipley, James Beharry, Wei Yeh, Nabil Seery, Yi Chao Foong, Darshini Ayton, Pakeeran Siriratnam, Tracie Tan, Heidi Beadnall, Joshua Barton, Francesca Bridge, Robb Wesselingh, Lisa Taylor, Louise Rath, Jodi Haartsen, Mohammad Gadi, Cassie Nesbitt, Michael Zhong, Victoria Cushing, Fiona McKay, Julia Morahan, Benjamin Peter Trewin, Izanne Roos, Mark Marriott, Ai‐Lan Nguyen, Emma Downey, Joanne Crosby, Julian Bosco, Jennifer Taylor, Lauren Giles, Nevin John, Ernest Butler, Anneke Walt, Helmut Butzkueven, Stefan Blum, Marion Simpson, Mark Slee, Sudarshini Ramanathan, Todd Hardy, Richard A L Macdonell, Katherine Buzzard, Deborah F Mason, Jeannette Lechner‐Scott, Trevor J Kilpatrick, Tomas Kalincik, Bruce V Taylor, Simon A Broadley, Stephen Reddel, Douglas Johnson and Mastura Monif, the MS Interest Group, Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists

Article Type: Consensus Statement