TABLE 2.
Analyses of factors associated with decline of IgG during rituximab treatment assuming time on treatment as an independent variable.
| Predictors | Estimates | Confidence interval | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intercept (g/L) | 10.88 | 10.63–11.13 | <0.001 |
| Rate of immunoglobulin change in untreated, females and age of lowest quantile, per year (g/L/year) | −0.27 | −0.36 to −0.17 | <0.001 |
| Additional change in rate per year (g/L/year) | |||
| × Sex (Male) a | 0.07 | −0.04 to 0.18 | 0.240 |
| × Age, per year (2nd quantile) b | 0.08 | −0.01 to 0.16 | 0.082 |
| × Age, per year (3rd quantile) b | 0.08 | −0.00 to 0.17 | 0.053 |
| × Age, per year (4th quantile) b | 0.13 | −0.00 to 0.27 | 0.058 |
| × Previous DMT (Fingolimod) c | 0.02 | −0.10 to 0.15 | 0.697 |
| × Previous DMT (Natalizumab) c | −0.01 | −0.13 to 0.12 | 0.928 |
| × Previous DMT (Teriflunomide) c | −0.18 | −0.46 to 0.10 | 0.211 |
| × Previous DMT (Other) c | −0.06 | −0.30 to 0.18 | 0.610 |
| × Previous DMT (Dimethyl fumarate) c | −0.18 | −0.33 to −0.03 | 0.016 |
| × Previous DMT (Glatiramer acetate) c | −0.13 | −0.28 to 0.03 | 0.107 |
| × Previous DMT (Interferon β) c | −0.14 | −0.23 to −0.05 | 0.002 |
| Effect on baseline | |||
| Age, quantiles (g/L) | |||
| 2nd quantile b | 0.11 | −0.17 to 0.38 | 0.458 |
| 3rd quantile b | −0.09 | −0.39 to 0.20 | 0.535 |
| 4th quantile b | −0.65 | −0.97 to −0.32 | <0.001 |
| Sex (g/L) | |||
| Male a | −0.22 | −0.49 to 0.05 | 0.109 |
| Previous DMT (g/L) | |||
| Fingolimod c | −1.03 | −1.38 to −0.67 | <0.001 |
| Natalizumab c | −0.80 | −1.10 to −0.49 | <0.001 |
| Teriflunomide c | −0.41 | −1.15 to 0.33 | 0.276 |
| Other c | −0.09 | −0.78 to 0.60 | 0.807 |
| Dimethyl fumarate c | −0.03 | −0.37 to 0.31 | 0.868 |
| Glatiramer acetate c | 0.18 | −0.36 to 0.73 | 0.507 |
| Interferon β c | 0.40 | 0.10–0.71 | 0.009 |
| N ID | 2630 | ||
| Observations | 13076 | ||
Abbreviations: DMT, disease‐modifying therapy, with treatment‐naïve patients as the reference group; g/L, grams per liter; GEE, generalized estimating equations; IgG, immunoglobulin G; NID, number of Individuals.
Note: The reference group for sex is females, and for age, it is the lowest quantile. The statistical model employed, Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), was chosen due to its robustness in handling the correlated data typical of longitudinal studies, assuming linear relationships among variables. A significance level of p < 0.05 was adopted, but given the 23 comparisons made, a Bonferroni‐adjusted threshold of 0.002 (0.05/23) could be used to mitigate the risk of Type I error. This adjustment necessitates a cautious interpretation of findings near this significant boundary.
The comparison group is female pwMS.
The comparison group is the lowest quantile of age at inclusion.
The comparison group is previously untreated pwMS.