Income in Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Different Disease Phenotypes.

Ali Manouchehrinia,Orhan Aktas,Kristina Alexanderson,Virginija Danylaite Karrenbauer,Hanna Gyllensten,Jan Hillert,Andrius Kavaliunas,Anna Glaser

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169460

Ali Manouchehrinia, Orhan Aktas + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169460

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Jan 12, 2017
Citations: 14	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital

Abstract

BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease with profound heterogeneity in clinical course.ObjectiveTo analyze sources and levels of income among MS patients in relation to disease phenotype with a special focus on identifying differences/similarities between primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS).MethodsA total of 6890 MS patients aged 21−64 years and living in Sweden in 2010 were identified for this cross-sectional study. Descriptive statistics, logistic, truncated linear, and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were used to estimate differences in income between SPMS, PPMS and relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients.ResultsRRMS patients earned almost twice as much as PPMS and SPMS patients (on average SEK 204,500, SEK 114,500, and SEK 79,800 in 2010, respectively). The difference in earnings between PPMS and SPMS was not statistically significant when analyzed with multivariable regression. The estimated odds ratio for PPMS patients to have income from earnings was not significantly different from SPMS patients (95% CI 0.98 to 1.59). PPMS and RRMS patients were less likely to receive benefits when compared to SPMS patients (by 6% and 27% lower, respectively).ConclusionOur findings argue for similarities between PPMS and SPMS and highlight the socioeconomic importance of preventing RRMS patients convert to SPMS.

Highlights

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common causes of neurological disability in young adults, having a significant socioeconomic impact for patients, which is further amplified by the relatively early age of MS onset [1,2,3]
The difference in earnings between primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS) was not statistically significant when analyzed with multivariable regression
The estimated odds ratio for PPMS patients to have income from earnings was not significantly different from SPMS patients

Summary

Introduction

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common causes of neurological disability in young adults, having a significant socioeconomic impact for patients, which is further amplified by the relatively early age of MS onset [1,2,3]. The clinical course of MS may follow a variable pattern [4], but three major variants of MS have gained general acceptance, namely relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS). The most common presentation of MS is RRMS which has an onset in young adulthood and runs an irregular course. Most patients with RRMS convert into SPMS. Within 20–30 years the majority of RRMS patients have converted to SPMS [7].

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Conclusion