Characteristics of the multiple sclerosis (MS) study population
| Characteristics at the index date | Study population n=6793 |
| Women, N (%) | 4999 (73.6) |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 45.4 (13.3) |
| SES, N (%) | |
| 1 (lowest income quintile) | 1199 (17.7) |
| 2 | 1303 (19.2) |
| 3 | 1411 (20.8) |
| 4 | 1468 (21.6) |
| 5 (highest income quintile) | 1385 (20.4) |
| Unavailable | 27 (0.4) |
| Comorbidities*, N (%) | |
| Diabetes | 364 (5.4) |
| Malignancies | 475 (7.0) |
| Chronic lung diseases | 628 (9.2) |
| Inflammatory bowel disease | 72 (1.1) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 160 (2.4) |
| Psoriasis | 22 (0.3) |
| Number of comorbidities*, N (%) | |
| None | 5306 (78.1) |
| 1 | 1277 (18.8) |
| 2 or more | 210 (3.1) |
| Follow-up time (years), median (IQR) | 8.5 (4.6–12.7) |
| Ever exposed† | |
| Any DMT, N (%) | 1716 (25.3) |
| First-generation DMTs | |
| Beta-interferon, N (%) | 1386 (20.4) |
| Glatiramer acetate, N (%) | 656 (9.7) |
| Second-generation DMTs | |
| Natalizumab, N (%) | 100 (1.5) |
| Oral DMTs, N (%) | 98 (1.4) |
| Fingolimod, N (%) | 61 (0.9) |
| Dimethyl fumarate, N (%) | 40 (0.6) |
| Number of people with ≥1 | |
| Infection-related physician claim | 5765 (84.9) |
| Infection-related hospitalisation | 726 (10.7) |
*Comorbidities identified during the 5 years prior to index date (diabetes, malignancies, chronic lung disease, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis); all were included to generate the ‘number of comorbidities’ shown in the table.
†No individual filled a prescription for teriflunomide, alemtuzumab or the generic beta-interferon-1b (Extavia) during the study period. As 458 individuals filled a prescription for more than one DMT group during the study period, the summed subgroups exceeds the total ever exposed (n=1716).
DMT, disease-modifying treatment; SES, socioeconomic status.