Table 1.
Sociodemographic, clinical and pharmaceutical data of female MS patients of childbearing age stratified by contraceptive use.
| Characteristic | Total patient cohort (n = 212) |
Patients using contraceptivesa
(n = 101) |
Patients using no contraceptivesa
(n = 111) |
p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic data | ||||
| Age at data acquisition (years), M (SD) [range] | 36.3 (7.6) [19–48] | 36.6 (7.0) [19–48] | 36.0 (8.1) [19–48] | 0.501t |
| School years, median [range] | 10 [8–18] | 10 [8–14] | 10 [8–18] | 0.205U |
| Educational level, n (%) | 0.086Chi | |||
| No training | 13 (6.1) | 3 (3.0) | 10 (9.0) | |
| Skilled worker | 128 (60.4) | 67 (66.3) | 61 (55.0) | |
| Technical college | 27 (12.7) | 9 (8.9) | 18 (16.2) | |
| University | 44 (20.8) | 22 (21.8) | 22 (19.8) | |
| Employment status, n (%) | 0.760Chi | |||
| In training | 7 (3.3) | 3 (3.0) | 4 (3.6) | |
| In studies | 5 (2.4) | 2 (2.0) | 3 (2.7) | |
| Employed | 112 (52.8) | 50 (49.5) | 62 (55.9) | |
| Unemployed | 11 (5.2) | 7 (6.9) | 4 (3.6) | |
| Disability pensioned | 69 (32.5) | 36 (35.6) | 33 (29.7) | |
| Others | 8 (3.8) | 3 (3.0) | 5 (4.5) | |
| Partnership, n (%) | 0.524Fi | |||
| Single | 52 (24.5) | 27 (26.7) | 25 (22.5) | |
| Any partnership | 160 (75.5) | 74 (73.3) | 86 (77.5) | |
| Place of residence, n (%) | 0.499Chi | |||
| Rural community | 76 (35.9) | 35 (34.7) | 41 (36.9) | |
| Provincial town | 38 (17.9) | 15 (14.9) | 23 (20.7) | |
| Medium-sized town | 34 (16.0) | 16 (15.8) | 18 (16.2) | |
| City | 64 (30.2) | 35 (34.7) | 29 (26.1) | |
| No. children, n (%) | 0.861Chi | |||
| 0 | 84 (39.6) | 43 (42.6) | 41 (36.9) | |
| 1 | 51 (24.1) | 24 (23.8) | 27 (24.3) | |
| ⩾2 | 77 (36.3) | 34 (33.6) | 43 (38.8) | |
| No. siblings, n (%) | 0.199Chi | |||
| 0 | 25 (11.8) | 10 (9.9) | 15 (13.5) | |
| 1 | 140 (66.0) | 66 (65.3) | 74 (66.7) | |
| ⩾2 | 47 (22.2) | 25 (24.8) | 22 (19.8) | |
| Clinical data | ||||
| Patient care, n (%) | 0.128Fi | |||
| Outpatient | 169 (79.7) | 76 (75.2) | 93 (83.8) | |
| Inpatient | 43 (20.3) | 25 (24.8) | 18 (16.2) | |
| Age at MS onset (years), M (SD) [range] | 27.8 (7.2) [12–47] | 28.1 (6.5) [12–47] | 27.5 (7.9) [12–47] | 0.497t |
| Disease duration (years), median [range] | 7 [0–30] | 7 [0–30] | 6 [0–26] | 0.316U |
| EDSS, median [range] | 2.0 [0–8] | 2.0 [0–8] | 2.0 [0–7.5] | 0.022 U |
| Disease course, n (%) | 0.206Chi | |||
| CIS | 13 (6.1) | 5 (5.0) | 8 (67.2) | |
| RRMS | 182 (85.8) | 84 (83.2) | 98 (88.3) | |
| SPMS | 15 (7.1) | 11 (10.9) | 4 (3.6) | |
| PPMS | 2 (1.0) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (0.9) | |
| No. comorbidities, n (%) | 0.009Chi * | |||
| 0 | 83 (39.1) | 32 (31.7) | 51 (45.9) | |
| 1 | 56 (26.4) | 24 (23.8) | 32 (28.8) | |
| 2 | 40 (18.9) | 29 (28.7) | 11 (9.9) | |
| 3 | 18 (8.5) | 7 (6.9) | 11 (9.9) | |
| 4 | 9 (4.2) | 4 (4.0) | 5 (4.5) | |
| ⩾5 | 6 (2.9) | 5 (5.0) | 1 (0.9) | |
| Pharmaceutical data | ||||
| Polypharmacy, n (%) | <0.001 Fi ** | |||
| No | 129 (60.8) | 41 (40.6) | 88 (79.3) | |
| Yes | 83 (39.2) | 60 (59.4) | 23 (20.7) | |
| No. drugs taken, median [range] | ||||
| All drugs | 4 [0–15] | 5 [1–15] | 3 [0–11] | <0.001 U ** |
| Rx drugs | 2 [0–14] | 4 [0–14] | 2 [0–7] | <0.001U ** |
| OTC drugs | 1 [0–6] | 1 [0–6] | 1 [0–5] | 0.753U |
| DOD | 0 [0–7] | 0 [0–7] | 0 [0–4] | 0.339U |
| LTD | 3 [0–11] | 4 [0–11] | 2 [0–9] | <0.001U ** |
| DMDsb | 1 [0–2] | 1 [0–2] | 1 [0–1] | 0.003 U * |
| Symptomatic drugs | 1 [0–9] | 1 [0–9] | 1 [0–5] | 0.053U |
| Comorbidity drugs | 2 [0–10] | 2 [0–10] | 1 [0–6] | <0.001 U ** |
CIS, clinically isolated syndrome; DMDs, disease-modifying drugs for MS; DOD, drugs on demand; EDSS, Expanded Disability Status Scale; FDR, false discovery rate; LTD, long-term drugs; MS, multiple sclerosis; n, number of patients; No., number of; OTC, over-the-counter; p, p-value; PPMS, primary progressive multiple sclerosis; RRMS, relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis; Rx, prescription; SD, standard deviation; SPMS, secondary progressive multiple sclerosis; Significance values <0.05 are indicated in bold.
FDR < 0.05. **FDR < 0.001.
The grouping of patients was based on the use of either birth control pills or vaginal rings as hormonal contraceptives.
The use of methylprednisolone was counted within the DMD category.
Chi-squared test.
Fisher’s exact test.
Two-sample two-tailed Student’s t test.
Mann–Whitney U test.