Table 5.
Group mean fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and fractal dimension (FD) values in the whole skeleton and in significant voxels obtained for different models in healthy controls (HC) and multiple sclerosis (MS) cohort.
| Metric | Model | nvoxels | HC | MS | Cohen’s d |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FD (whole skeleton) | box size: 1–2 | – | 1.805 | 1.815 | – |
| box size: 1–4 | – | 1.868 | 1.879 | – | |
| box size: 1–8 | – | 1.946 | 1.948 | – | |
| box size: 8–16 | – | 2.266 | 2.224 | – | |
| FA (whole skeleton) | MS vs. HC | 81,253 | 0.409 ± 0.023 | 0.386 ± 0.030 | −0.84 |
| MD (whole skeleton) (10−3 mm2/s) | MS vs. HC | 81,253 | 0.666 ± 0.020 | 0.712 ± 0.045 | 1.23 |
| FA (significant voxels) | MS vs. HC | 53,111 | 0.420 ± 0.023 | 0.392 ± 0.034 | −0.99 |
| MS vs. HC + Age | 50,169 | 0.422 ± 0.023 | 0.393 ± 0.034 | −1.01 | |
| MS vs. HC + Age + SDMT | 55,912 | 0.418 ± 0.023 | 0.389 ± 0.034 | −0.98 | |
| MS vs. HC + Age + SDMT + EDSS | 42,589 | 0.433 ± 0.023 | 0.400 ± 0.036 | −1.02 | |
| MD (significant voxels) (10−3 mm2/s) | MS vs. HC | 53,111 | 0.679 ± 0.020 | 0.733 ± 0.052 | 1.30 |
| MS vs. HC + Age | 50,169 | 0.680 ± 0.020 | 0.736 ± 0.053 | 1.30 | |
| MS vs. HC + Age + SDMT | 55,912 | 0.677 ± 0.020 | 0.731 ± 0.051 | 1.29 | |
| MS vs. HC + Age + SDMT + EDSS | 42,589 | 0.682 ± 0.021 | 0.741 ± 0.055 | 1.31 |
Covariates used in a given model are mentioned after the plus sign. All FA and MD values are significantly different between HC and MS (p < 0.001). Effect size (Cohen’s d) is also presented for the difference between HC and MS.