About this release

This annual release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides information from the Scottish Multiple Sclerosis Register (SMSR) on all patients with a confirmed incident diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2024, within the context of overall MS rates from January 2010 to December 2024.

Main points

  • In 2024, 470 new patients with a confirmed diagnosis of MS were added to the SMSR. This brings the total number of patients newly diagnosed and reported over the 15-year period to 7,329.

Image caption Percentage of patients with a new diagnosis of MS contacted by a MS specialist nurse within 10 working days of confirmed diagnosis
  • In line with previously published SMSR data, the annual incidence rate shows more than twice as many females than males were diagnosed with MS.
  • The proportion of newly diagnosed patients receiving contact from a MS specialist nurse within 10 working days of diagnosis increased from 88.3% in 2023 to 93.3% in 2024.
  • Paediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis (POMS) is estimated to account for only 3-5% of all MS cases. This is the first year this subset of MS patients has been included in the annual report. This is a useful step in understanding the incidence, diagnostic process and management pathway of POMS across Scotland.

Background

The Scottish MS Register is a national register within the Scottish National Audit Programme at Public Health Scotland. The aim of the SMSR is to improve healthcare for people living with MS in Scotland. Establishing the incidence and interpreting the implications of its demography allows us to facilitate service evaluation and drive health improvement. The data on which this report is produced are provided by neurologists and MS clinical teams via a research electronic data collection system (REDCap) which incorporates the patient journey from referral to diagnosis, including referral to a MS specialist nurse. The national clinical standard for SMSR is that an individual diagnosed with MS should have contact with an MS specialist nurse within 10 working days. Contact with a MS specialist nurse is considered crucial after diagnosis, in guiding, commencing treatment and navigating the patient journey in managing symptoms and living with MS.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be July 2026.

General enquiries

If you have an enquiry relating to this publication, please contact Niall MacDougall at phs.scottishmsregister@phs.scot.

Media enquiries

If you have a media enquiry relating to this publication, please contact the Communications and Engagement team.

Requesting other formats and reporting issues

If you require publications or documents in other formats, please email phs.otherformats@phs.scot.

To report any issues with a publication, please email phs.generalpublications@phs.scot.

Older versions of this publication

Versions of this publication released before 16 March 2020 may be found on the Data and Intelligence, Health Protection Scotland or Improving Health websites.

Last updated: 23 July 2025
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