Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to matched controls
| MS (n=4084) | Control (n=4084) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, No. (%) | 1.00 | ||
| Female | 263 (6.4) | 263 (6.4) | |
| Male | 3821 (93.6) | 3821 (93.6) | |
| Age, mean (SD), years | 65.9 (7.0) | 66.0 (7.0) | 0.61 |
| Race and ethnicity | 1.00 | ||
| Asian | 4 (0.1) | 4 (0.1) | |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 292 (7.2) | 292 (7.2) | |
| Hispanic | 24 (0.6) | 24 (0.6) | |
| White, non-Hispanic | 3579 (88.1) | 3597 (88.1) | |
| Other or unclassified | 167 (4.1) | 167 (4.1) | |
| Geographic region | <0.001 | ||
| North | 1377 (33.7) | 1101 (27.0) | |
| Central | 1192 (29.2) | 1078 (26.4) | |
| South | 1515 (37.1) | 1905 (46.7) | |
| History of stroke | 402 (9.8) | 284 (7.0) | <0.001 |
| Current tobacco use | 516 (12.6) | 644 (15.8) | <0.001 |
| Obesity | 479 (11.7) | 725 (17.8) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 783 (19.2) | 1075 (26.3) | <0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia | 1951 (47.8) | 2283 (55.9) | <0.001 |
| Epilepsy | 176 (4.3) | 76 (1.9) | <0.001 |
| Parkinson’s Disease | 85 (2.1) | 39 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| Cardiac disease* | 454 (11.1) | 499 (12.2) | 0.12 |
| Substance use disorder | 152 (3.7) | 288 (7.1) | <0.001 |
| Depression | 989 (24.2) | 621 (15.2) | <0.001 |
*
History of myocardial infarction, heart failure, or atrial fibrillation