Background: The prevalence rate of multiple sclerosis (MS) might differ between countries depending on whether the data is obtained from hospital-based or population-based studies. This study aimed at identifying the prevalence of MS with face-to-face interviews by door-to-door field visits in a population study conducted in the north-eastern (Caucasus) part of Turkey situated at high altitude, with long winters and with inhabitants having low socio-economical status. Method: In this cross-sectional field study, one of every three houses within the city proper were visited searching for MS cases. Results: 7249 subjects were included in face-to-face interviews. Five patients diagnosed as having MS were identified. The prevalence of MS was calculated as 68.97/100000, with a mean age of 35.1±10.2 years and female to male ratio of 4/1. Conclusion: This study, similar to the previous population-based study conducted in our country, demonstrated that the prevalence of MS in Turkey could be higher than expected.

Amaç: Multipl skleroz (MS) prevelans orani, yapilan çalismalarin toplum veya hastane kaynakli olmasina bagli olarak, u¨lkeler arasinda farklilik göstermektedir. Bu çalismamizda amacimiz sosyoekonomik seviyesi du¨su¨k, cografi açidan yu¨ksek rakimda, mevsimsel olarak uzun su¨ren kis aylarinin oldugu u¨lkemizin kuzey-dogu illerinden Kars’ta, yu¨z yu¨ze ve kapi kapi gezilerek, MS prevelansini tespit etmektir. Yöntem: Bu kesitsel alan çalismasinda, MS olgusu ararken tu¨m kentte belirlenen her u¨ç evden birine ziyaret yapildi. Bulgular: Toplam 7249 kisi ile yu¨z yu¨ze göru¨smeler yapildi. MS tanisi konmus 5 hasta tespit edildi. MS prevelansi 68,97/100000, kadin erkek orani 4/1, hastalarin yas ortalamasi 35,1±10,2 olarak hesaplandi. Sonuç: Bu çalisma, u¨lkemizde daha önce yapilan benzer çalisma ile benzer sekilde, MS prevelansinin tahmin edilen degerden daha yu¨ksek olabilecegini bize göstermektedir.