Table 1.
Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics of included participants
| Healthy volunteers (N = 37) | People with MS (N = 41) | Group differencesa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| P-value* | |||
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years | 39.3 (14.3) | 45.2 (12.9) | 0.052 |
| Sex, male/female [number (%)] | 16 (43.2) / 21 (56.8) | 11 (26.8) / 30 (73.2) | 0.128 |
| Education, years | 16.2 (2.5) | ||
| Disease characteristics | |||
| Disease duration, years | 9.7 (6.9) | ||
| MS subtype, RR/SP/PP | 33 (80.5)/5 (12.2)/3 (7.3) | ||
| DMT use,b yes [number (%)] | 35 (85.4) | ||
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| EDSS, score | 2.5 [2.0–3.5] | ||
| SDMT, raw score | 51.0 (12.5) | ||
| MR characteristics | |||
| WM lesion load, mL | 4.13 [1.87–10.80] | ||
| Cortical GM volume, mL | 478.9 (57.8) | 421.0 (73.9) | 2.68 × 10−4 |
| Normalized cortical GM volume, mL | 0.30 (0.02) | 0.27 (0.03) | 6.39 × 10−9 |
| Deep GM volume, mL | 44.4 (4.0) | 41.9 (5.0) | 0.016 |
| Normalized deep GM volume, mL | 0.028 (0.002) | 0.027 (0.002) | 2.82 × 10−4 |
Variables are reported as mean (SD) or median (IQR) unless otherwise indicated. DMT, disease-modifying treatment; EDSS, Expanded Disability Status Scale; GM, grey matter; PP, primary progressive; MR, magnetic resonance; MS, multiple sclerosis; RR, relapsing-remitting; SDMT, Symbol Digit Modalities Test; SP, secondary progressive; WM, white matter. aIndependent samples t-test. bSpecific disease-modifying therapies include: nine dimethyl fumarate, eight glatiramer acetate, five fingolimod, five ocrelizumab, three interferon beta (1a/1b), two natalizumab, two rituximab and one teriflunomide. *P-values <0.05 are marked in bold.