Table 1.
Patients’ demographics, labor force and clinical characteristics in each EDSS level
| Mild (EDSS 0–3) (N = 84) | Moderate (EDSS 4–6.5) (N = 91) | Severe (EDSS 7–9) (N = 33) | TOTAL (N = 210)a | p-values* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Age (years) (Mean [SD]) | 36.8 (10.1) | 41.2 (11.4) | 49.2 (10.9) | 40.7 (11.5) | <0.001 |
| Gender | 0.056 | ||||
| Male | 18 (21) | 30 (33) | 14 (42) | 62 (29) | |
| Female | 66 (79) | 61 (67) | 19 (58) | 148 (70) | |
| Educational level | 0.044 | ||||
| Never been to school | – | – | – | – | |
| Elementary schoolb | 11 (13) | 14 (16) | 10 (30) | 35 (16) | |
| High schoolb | 34 (41) | 53 (58) | 13 (39) | 100 (48) | |
| Higher educationb | 31 (37) | 21 (23) | 8 (24) | 61 (29) | |
| Post-Graduationb | 8 (10) | 3 (3) | 1 (3) | 12 (6) | |
| No information | – | – | 1 (3) | 1 (1) | |
| Living | 0.004 | ||||
| Alone | – | 8 (9) | 2 (6) | 11 (5) | |
| Family/Spouse | 84 (100) | 83 (91) | 30 (91) | 198 (94) | |
| Home support or asylum | – | – | 1 (3) | 1 (1) | |
| Monthly income (USD$) (Mean [SD]) | 817.96 (899.18) | 748.93 (790.96) | 904.50 (994.75) | 806.47 (869.39) | 0.8925 |
| MS type | <0.001 | ||||
| Relapse-remitting | 84 (100) | 75 (82) | 5 (15) | 166 (79) | |
| Secondary progressive | – | 16 (18) | 28 (85) | 44 (21) | |
| Diagnosis time (years) (Mean [SD]) | 5.2 (4.4) | 8.2 (5.8) | n.a. | 7.9 (6.2) | |
| Comorbities | 64 (76) | 79 (87) | 30 (91) | 173 (82) | 0.074 |
| Relapses (Y/N) | 41 (49) | 52 (57) | 8 (24) | 102 (49) | 0.004 |
| Number of relapses in the last year (Mean [SD]) | 1.5 (1.0) | 1.7 (1.0) | 1.4 (0.5) | 1.6 (1.0) | |
| Employed/Self-employed | 51 (31) | 17 (19) | 0 (0) | 70 (34) | <0.001 |
| Sick leave due to Multiple Sclerosisc | 15 (29) | 11 (65) | n.a. | 26 (37) | 0.089 |
| Sick leave duration (days) (Mean [SD]) | 170.5 (258.4) | 90.9 (75.0) | n.a. | 141.7 (198.7) | |
| Early retirement by disease or disablement | 9 (11) | 48 (53) | 21 (64) | 78 (37) | <0.001 |
| Time between diagnosis and retirement (years) (Mean [SD]) | 4.9 (5.1) | 3.5 (3.9) | 4.2 (4.2) | 3.9 (4.1) | |
| Age at retirement (years) (Mean [SD]) | 42 (12.0) | 38 (8.9) | 39 (9.9) | 39 (9.5) | |
| Health-related Quality of Life (EQ-5D) | |||||
| Mobility | <0.001 | ||||
| no problem | 56 (66.7) | 7 (7.7) | – | 64 (30) | |
| some problem | 28 (33.3) | 83 (91.2) | 22 (66.7) | 134 (64) | |
| serious problem | – | 1 (1.1) | 11 (33.3) | 12 (6) | |
| Self-care | <0.001 | ||||
| no problem | 77 (91.7) | 51 (56.0) | 4 (12.1) | 133 (63) | |
| some problem | 7 (8.3) | 40 (44.0) | 18 (54.5) | 66 (31) | |
| serious problem | – | – | 11 (33.3) | 11 (5) | |
| Usual activities | <0.001 | ||||
| no problem | 52 (61.9) | 17 (18.7) | 2 (6.1) | 72 (34) | |
| some problem | 31 (36.9) | 68 (74.7) | 15 (45.5) | 115 (55) | |
| serious problem | 1 (1.2) | 6 (6.6) | 16 (48.5) | 23 (11) | |
| Pain/discomfort | 0.001 | ||||
| no problem | 39 (46.4) | 21 (23.1) | 7 (21.2) | 68 (32) | |
| some problem | 43 (51.2) | 57 (62.6) | 26 (78.8) | 126 (60) | |
| serious problem | 2 (2.4) | 12 (13.2) | – | 15 (7) | |
| no information | – | 1 (1.1) | – | 1 (1) | |
| Anxiety/depression | 0.148 | ||||
| no problem | 35 (41.7) | 30 (33.0) | 15 (45.5) | 80 (38) | |
| some problem | 42 (50.0) | 45 (49.5) | 17 (51.5) | 106 (51) | |
| serious problem | 7 (8.3) | 16 (17.6) | 1 (3.0) | 24 (11) | |
| EQ-VAS (Mean [SD]) | 82.5 (13.7) | 65.8 (18.5) | 59.1 (17.5) | 71.6 (18.9) | <0.001 |
| Impact of fatigue on daily living (MFIS-BR) | <0.001 | ||||
| Absent | 56 (67) | 33 (36) | 11 (33) | 102 (49) | |
| Present - Low | 17 (20) | 34 (37) | 16 (48) | 67 (32) | |
| Present - High | 11 (13) | 24 (26) | 6 (18) | 41 (19) |
n.a. not applicable; EDSS Expanded Disability Status Scale; SD Standard Deviation; MS Multiple Sclerosis; Y/N Yes/No
*Pearson Chi-square test to categorical variables or ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis test to continuous variables
aFor two patients information about EDSS level was unavailable and their data are included only in total analysis
bComplete/incomplete
cAmong those that reported to be currently working (EDSS 0–3, N = 51; EDSS 4–6.5, N = 17; EDSS 7–9, N = 0; Total, N = 70)