Multiple Sclerosis Incidence and Prevalence in Sweden, 2001-2021

13,055 incident and 28,107 prevalent MS cases were identified in administrative data for Sweden. This dataset contains supplementary material for a study analyzing temporal trends in multiple sclerosis from 2001 to 2021, using linked population-based registries and two case definitions. The data was published on figshare under a CC-BY-4.0 license and last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal trends in disease incidence based on annual percent change data from 2001-2021.
• Comparing administrative versus clinical case definitions for disease surveillance based on the two cohorts described.
• Modeling healthcare resource needs based on prevalence rates that increased from 118 to 167 cases per 100,000 persons.
• Studying the potential impact of environmental factors on disease rates suggested by the discussion on smoking and treatment practices.

Strengths

• Nationwide coverage of Sweden's population over a 20-year period (2001-2021).
• Utilizes two distinct case definitions (administrative and clinical) for cross-validation.
• Reports specific incidence rates (e.g., 8.37 per 100,000 person-years) with confidence intervals.
• Age-standardized to the World Standard Population for comparability.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary file format is DOCX, which may require conversion for structured analysis.

Provenance

Source

Linked Swedish population-based registries, including the Swedish MS registry.

Collection Method

Analysis of International Classification of Disease codes and clinical registry data.

Time Range

2001 to 2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-26 05:55:12; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Sweden