Table 1.
Frequencies of MS onset symptoms (%) in the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Registry; overall, by sex and by MS type; p-values after χ2-test.
| Sex | MS type | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Men | Women | P-value | PP | RR | SP | P-value | |
| Balance problems | 575 (28.6) | 160 (28.8) | 415 (28.2) | 0.564 | 71 (34.1) | 387 (28.0) | 106 (27.5) | 0.166 |
| Bladder problems | 225 (11.1) | 59 (10.8) | 166 (11.2) | 0.788 | 30 (14.0) | 144 (10.4) | 46 (11.8) | 0.252 |
| Bowel problems | 185 (9.2) | 37 (6.8) | 148 (10.0) | 0.026 | 25 (11.7) | 125 (9.0) | 35 (9.1) | 0.442 |
| Depression symptoms | 247 (12.2) | 61 (11.2) | 186 (12.6) | 0.406 | 28 (13.0) | 171 (12.4) | 43 (11.1) | 0.730 |
| Dizziness | 423 (20.8) | 102 (18.7) | 321 (21.6) | 0.156 | 30 (14.0) | 319 (23.0) | 66 (17.0) | 0.001 |
| Epilepsy | 21 (1.0) | 5 (0.9) | 16 (1.1) | 0.746 | 2 (0.9) | 15 (1.1) | 3 (0.8) | 0.860 |
| Fatigue | 707 (35.2) | 163 (29.4) | 544 (37.1) | 0.004 | 81 (38.9) | 510 (37.0) | 107 (27.9) | 0.003 |
| Gait problems | 642 (31.7) | 196 (35.9) | 446 (30.2) | 0.014 | 115 (53.7) | 376 (27.1) | 137 (35.5) | 0.000 |
| Memory problems | 174 (8.6) | 40 (7.3) | 134 (9.0) | 0.216 | 18 (8.4) | 130 (9.4) | 21 (5.4) | 0.043 |
| Pain | 286 (14.1) | 66 (12.0) | 220 (14.9) | 0.104 | 36 (16.7) | 200 (14.4) | 44 (11.3) | 0.154 |
| Paralysis | 526 (26.0) | 141 (25.8) | 385 (26.0) | 0.925 | 60 (27.9) | 355 (25.6) | 102 (26.5) | 0.755 |
| Paresthesia | 1,194 (58.8) | 307 (56.2) | 887 (59.7) | 0.155 | 94 (44.1) | 851 (61.2) | 226 (57.9) | 0.000 |
| Sexual problems | 121 (6.0) | 42 (7.7) | 79 (5.3) | 0.045 | 21 (9.8) | 71 (5.1) | 26 (6.7) | 0.020 |
| Spasms | 188 (9.3) | 55 (10.1) | 133 (9.0) | 0.444 | 42 (19.6) | 106 (7.6) | 34 (8.8) | 0.000 |
| Speech problems | 137 (6.7) | 40 (7.3) | 97 (6.5) | 0.545 | 9 (4.2) | 105 (7.6) | 19 (4.9) | 0.050 |
| Swallowing problems | 53 (2.6) | 16 (2.9) | 37 (2.5) | 0.594 | 8 (3.7) | 34 (2.4) | 10 (2.6) | 0.581 |
| Tics | 87 (4.3) | 26 (4.7) | 61 (4.1) | 0.518 | 11 (5.1) | 56 (4.0) | 19 (4.9) | 0.646 |
| Tremor | 117 (5.7) | 29 (5.3) | 88 (5.9) | 0.584 | 13 (5.9) | 81 (5.8) | 21 (5.4) | 0.943 |
| Vision problems | 829 (40.8) | 200 (36.6) | 629 (42.3) | 0.021 | 62 (28.6) | 572 (41.1) | 184 (47.5) | 0.000 |
| Weakness | 638 (31.6) | 159 (29.2) | 479 (32.5) | 0.164 | 78 (37.0) | 427 (30.9) | 122 (31.6) | 0.208 |