Table 3.
Adherence and discontinuation characteristics among patients with MS newly initiating a DMD: unadjusted bivariate analyses
| Characteristics | Self-injectable DMD | Oral DMD | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | 7,207 | 1,175 | – |
| Adherence | |||
| Mean MPR (SD) | 0.69 (0.30) | 0.68 (0.30) | 0.0002 |
| Adherent to therapy,a n (%) | 3,898 (54.1) | 623 (53.0) | 0.5075 |
| Remained on index therapy, n (%) | 4,574 (63.5) | 766 (65.2) | 0.2660 |
| Discontinued index therapy,b n (%) | 1,917 (26.6) | 331 (28.2) | 0.2710 |
| Mean time to discontinuation, days (SD) | 118.0 (79.3) | 113.7 (86.2) | 0.1341 |
| Switched to other DMD,c n (%) | 716 (9.9) | 78 (6.6) | 0.0003 |
| Switched to self-injectable, n (%) | 337 (47.1) | 46 (59.0) | |
| Switched to oral, n (%) | 255 (35.6) | 22 (28.2) | |
| Switched to other, n (%) | 124 (17.3) | 10 (12.8) | |
| Mean days to switch (SD) | 163.1 (75.7) | 153.1 (80.0) | 0.2519 |
Notes:
a
Defined as MPR ≥0.8;
b
defined as absence of the index DMD for ≥90 days during the follow-up period without switching to another DMD during those 90 days;
c
defined as switching from the index DMD to another DMD.
Abbreviations: DMD, disease-modifying drug; MPR, medication possession ratio; MS, multiple sclerosis; SD, standard deviation.