Table 2 A comparison of the baseline characteristics of the patients who had benign MS at follow-up in 2006 compared to those without benign MS at follow-up

	Benign MS 2006 (n = 40)	Not Benign MS 2006 (n = 316)	p Value^#	Odds Ratio^## (95%CI)	10-year risk OR (95%CI)
Male	5 (12%)	100 (32%)	0.006*	1.09 (1.02, 1.17)
Female	35 (88%)	216 (68%)
Age at onset (years); mean (SD)	28.3 (9.6)	34.0 (12.2)	0.004**	0.996 (0.993,0.999)	0.96 (0.93,0.99)
Disease duration at follow-up (years); mean (SD)	26.1 (5.8)	30.6 (8.8)	0.002**	0.99 (0.98,0.99)	0.91 (0.87,0.95)
Time to second relapse (years); mean (SD)	2.8 (4.5)	2.0 (3.9)	NS	NA
Initial symptoms:
Optic	9 (22%)	68 (20%)	NS	NA
Sensory	19 (47%)	120 (36%)	NS	NA
BS/cerebellar	12 (30%)	79 (24%)	NS	NA
Motor	6 (15%)	131 (40%)	0.001*	0.91 (0.85,0.97)

Results are given as mean and standard deviation (SD).
^#p value univariate analysis; ^##OR (95%CI) stepwise logistic regression model; *Fisher’s exact test; **Unpaired t test.
BS, brain stem; MS, multiple sclerosis.