Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of reproductive-aged women with multiple sclerosis in the IBM Watson Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database from 2010–2019, by time period
| Characteristic | 2010–2013 |
2014–2016 |
2017–2019 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 358,817 PMs (23,672 women) |
251,589 PMs (17,567 women) |
207,773 PMs (13,725 women) |
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|
| ||||||
| Demographics | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Age, mean ± SD | 36.4 | (6.1) | 36.4 | (6.2) | 36.4 | (6.2) |
| Median (IQR) | 38 | (33, 41) | 38 | (33, 42) | 38 | (33, 41) |
| Age categories, n (%) | ||||||
| 15–24 | 18,081 | (5.0) | 15,243 | (6.1) | 12,207 | (5.9) |
| 25–34 | 101,177 | (28.2) | 66,752 | (26.5) | 55,376 | (26.7) |
| 35–44 | 239,559 | (66.8) | 169,594 | (67.4) | 140,190 | (67.5) |
| Region, n (%) | ||||||
| South | 135,498 | (38.2) | 103,478 | (41.5) | 93,358 | (45.0) |
| North Central | 97,332 | (27.4) | 54,278 | (21.8) | 43,261 | (20.8) |
| Northeast | 66,874 | (18.8) | 51,719 | (20.8) | 42,646 | (20.5) |
| West | 55,335 | (15.6) | 39,667 | (15.9) | 28,311 | (13.6) |
| Unknown | 3,778 | 2,447 | 197 | |||
|
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| Baseline relapses | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Any baseline relapse, n (%) | 88,849 | (24.8) | 65,722 | (26.1) | 67,817 | (32.6) |
| Number of baseline relapses, mean (SD) | 0.4 | (0.8) | 0.4 | (0.8) | 0.5 | (0.9) |
| Median (IQR) | 0 | (0, 0) | 0 | (0, 1) | 0 | (0, 1) |
|
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| Baseline comorbidities and symptoms | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Pain, n (%) | 161,435 | (45.0) | 120,400 | (47.9) | 98,716 | (47.5) |
| Prior mental illness or substance use disorder, n (%) | 108,051 | (30.1) | 92,839 | (36.9) | 87,931 | (42.3) |
| Fatigue, n (%) | 88,597 | (24.7) | 73,583 | (29.2) | 64,707 | (31.1) |
| Thyroid disorder, n (%) | 45,217 | (12.6) | 35,273 | (14.0) | 31,068 | (15.0) |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 42,637 | (11.9) | 33,961 | (13.5) | 29,947 | (14.4) |
| Hyperlipidemia, n (%) | 38,181 | (10.6) | 26,725 | (10.6) | 21,796 | (10.5) |
| CCI, n (%) | ||||||
| 0 | 284,081 | (79.2) | 197,191 | (78.4) | 163,020 | (78.5) |
| 1 | 51,444 | (14.3) | 37,046 | (14.7) | 28,397 | (13.7) |
| 2 | 16,157 | (4.5) | 11,711 | (4.7) | 10,707 | (5.2) |
| 3+ | 7,135 | (2.0) | 5,641 | (2.2) | 5,649 | (2.7) |
| Conditions of the CCI, n (%) | ||||||
| COPD | 30,194 | (8.4) | 23,951 | (9.5) | 21,128 | (10.2) |
| Uncomplicated diabetes mellitus | 15,559 | (4.3) | 11,850 | (4.7) | 8,823 | (4.2) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 17,256 | (4.8) | 10,839 | (4.3) | 6,936 | (3.3) |
| Cancer without metastases | 7,062 | (2.0) | 4,368 | (1.7) | 4,095 | (2.0) |
| Rheumatic disease | 6,692 | (1.9) | 4,762 | (1.9) | 3,961 | (1.9) |
| Hemiplegia | 4,503 | (1.3) | 3,522 | (1.4) | 3,227 | (1.6) |
| Diabetes mellitus with chronic complications | 2,462 | (0.7) | 2,676 | (1.1) | 4,146 | (2.0) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 2,595 | (0.7) | 1,927 | (0.8) | 1,856 | (0.9) |
| Moderate to severe renal disease | 1,693 | (0.5) | 1,438 | (0.6) | 1,281 | (0.6) |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 1,531 | (0.4) | 993 | (0.4) | 989 | (0.5) |
| Congestive heart failure | 1,225 | (0.3) | 927 | (0.4) | 723 | (0.3) |
| Metastatic solid tumor | 769 | (0.2) | 580 | (0.2) | 610 | (0.3) |
| Prior myocardial infarction | 688 | (0.2) | 542 | (0.2) | 480 | (0.2) |
| Mild liver disease | 571 | (0.2) | 561 | (0.2) | 382 | (0.2) |
| Dementia | 331 | (0.1) | 266 | (0.1) | 296 | (0.1) |
| HIV/AIDS | 406 | (0.1) | 148 | (0.1) | 188 | (0.1) |
| Moderate to severe liver disease | 174 | (0.0) | 113 | (0.0) | 91 | (0.0) |
|
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| Baseline drug use | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Antidepressants | 153,586 | (42.8) | 104,754 | (41.6) | 85,671 | (41.2) |
| Muscle spasm and anticholinergic | 144,172 | (40.2) | 103,233 | (41.0) | 83,970 | (40.4) |
| Corticosteroid | 119,452 | (33.3) | 87,115 | (34.6) | 81,496 | (39.2) |
| Fatigue medication | 59,628 | (16.6) | 35,517 | (14.1) | 26,256 | (12.6) |
| Anti-hypertensives | 51,265 | (14.3) | 37,764 | (15.0) | 31,049 | (14.9) |
| Urinary continence treatment | 33,136 | (9.2) | 21,862 | (8.7) | 16,684 | (8.0) |
| Anti-hyperlipidemia | 15,071 | (4.2) | 10,262 | (4.1) | 6,603 | (3.2) |
| Dalfampridine | 11,845 | (3.3) | 8,152 | (3.2) | 6,516 | (3.1) |
|
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| Baseline healthcare utilization | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Any inpatient admission, n (%) | 53,356 | (14.9) | 33,263 | (13.2) | 27,279 | (13.1) |
| Any outpatient visit, n (%) | 356,845 | (99.5) | 250,346 | (99.5) | 206,558 | (99.4) |
| Number of outpatient visits, mean (SD) | 8.1 | (5.9) | 8.1 | (6.5) | 8.1 | (6.1) |
| Median (IQR) | 7 | (4, 10) | 7 | (4, 10) | 7 | (4, 11) |
| Any ER visit, n (%) | 108,433 | (30.2) | 72,640 | (28.9) | 60,007 | (28.9) |
| Number of ER visits, mean (SD) | 0.6 | (1.6) | 0.6 | (1.6) | 0.6 | (1.6) |
| Median (IQR) | 0 | (0, 1) | 0 | (0, 1) | 0 | (0, 1) |
Abbreviations: AIDS=acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; CCI=Charlson Comorbidity Index; COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ER=emergency room; HIV=human immunodeficiency virus; IQR=interquartile range; PMs=person-months; SD=standard deviation.