TABLE 3.
Analyses of factors associated with decline of IgM during rituximab treatment assuming time on treatment as an independent variable.
| Predictors | Estimates | Confidence interval | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intercept (g/L) | 1.23 | 1.16–1.31 | <0.001 |
| Rate of immunoglobulin change in untreated, females and age of lowest quantile, per year (g/L/year) | −0.24 | −0.27 to 0.20 | <0.001 |
| Squared “Rate of immunoglobulin change in untreated, females and age of lowest quantile” | 0.03 | 0.02–0.03 | <0.001 |
| Additional change in rate per year (g/L/year) | |||
| × Sex (Male) a | −0.02 | −0.05 to −0.00 | 0.031 |
| × Age (2nd quantile) b | 0.03 | 0.00–0.05 | 0.043 |
| × Age (3rd quantile) b | 0.03 | 0.00–0.06 | 0.043 |
| × Age (4th quantile) b | 0.06 | 0.03–0.08 | <0.001 |
| × Previous DMT (Natalizumab) c | 0.03 | −0.00 to 0.06 | 0.078 |
| × Previous DMT (Fingolimod) c | 0.03 | 0.00–0.06 | 0.047 |
| × Previous DMT (Teriflunomide) c | 0.00 | −0.07 to 0.06 | 0.898 |
| × Previous DMT (Other) c | 0.00 | −0.06 to 0.06 | 0.889 |
| × Previous DMT (Dimethyl fumarate) c | 0.01 | −0.03 to 0.05 | 0.509 |
| × Previous DMT (Glatiramer acetate) c | 0.01 | −0.03 to 0.04 | 0.762 |
| × Previous DMT (Interferon β) c | 0.00 | −0.03 to 0.04 | 0.906 |
| Effect on baseline | |||
| Age, quantiles (g/L) | |||
| 2nd quantile b | −0.08 | −0.16 to 0.00 | 0.065 |
| 3rd quantile b | −0.04 | −0.14 to 0.05 | 0.381 |
| 4th quantile b | −0.2 | −0.29 to −0.11 | <0.001 |
| Sex (g/L) | |||
| Male a | 0.02 | −0.05 to 0.09 | 0.615 |
| Previous DMT (g/L) | |||
| Natalizumab c | −0.31 | −0.40 to −0.23 | <0.001 |
| Fingolimod c | −0.30 | −0.40 to −0.21 | <0.001 |
| Teriflunomide c | −0.11 | −0.29 to 0.07 | 0.234 |
| Other c | −0.2 | −0.39 to −0.01 | 0.035 |
| Dimethyl fumarate c | −0.02 | −0.13 to 0.08 | 0.662 |
| Glatiramer acetate c | −0.11 | −0.23 to 0.02 | 0.094 |
| Interferon β c | −0.06 | −0.16 to 0.03 | 0.191 |
| N ID | 2072 | ||
| Observations | 8129 | ||
Note: Since the decline of IgM is not linear a square term “Rate of immunoglobulin change in untreated, females and age of lowest quantile” to adjust for this non‐linearity. The Bonferroni‐adjusted threshold of 0.002 (0.05/24) because of the added squared term.
a
The comparison group is female pwMS.
b
The comparison group is the lowest quantile of age at inclusion.
c
The comparison group is previously untreated pwMS.