Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of MS patients and controls.
| Controls | MS patients | P-value* | RRMS | SPMS | PPMS | P-value# | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 47 | n = 151 | n = 88 | n = 44 | n = 19 | |||
| Age (years) | 46.6 ± 13.3 | 50.1 ± 11.4 | 0.08 | 45.6 ± 10.0 | 55.0 ± 8.8 | 59.4 ± 13.0 | <0.001 |
| HCMV seroprevalence, n (%) | 37 (78.7) | 103 (68.7) | 0.126 | 59 (67.8) | 33 (75) | 11 (57.9) | 0.217 |
| EBV seroprevalence, n (%) | 40 (87) | 147 (98.7) | <0.01 | 86 (98.9) | 43 (97.7) | 18 (100) | 0.152 |
| Sex (female), n (%) | 30 (63.8) | 101 (66.9) | 0.413 | 59 (67.0) | 28 (63.6) | 14 (73.7) | 0.861 |
| MS duration (years) | – | 15.1 ± 10.0 | 11.6 ± 9.1 | 21.5 ± 8.7 | 16.2 ± 9.8 | <0.001 | |
| DMT, n (%) | – | 50 (33.1) | 42 (47.7) | 7 (15.9) | 1 (5.3) | <0.001 | |
| DMT-naive, n (%) | – | 47 (34.1) | 22 (28.9) | 9 (20.9) | 16 (84.2) | <0.001 | |
| EDSS | – | 3.5 (2.0–6.0) | 2.0 (1.0–3.0) | 6.5 (5.5–7.5) | 6.0 (4.5–7.0) | <0.001 | |
| MSSS | – | 4.23 ± 2.92 | 2.60 ± 2.20 | 6.58 ± 2.25 | 6.56 ± 1.91 | <0.001 | |
| 2y-RR | – | 0.19 ± 0.41 | 0.34 ± 0.52 | 0.01 ± 0.08 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | <0.001 | |
| ARR | – | 0.37 ± 0.41 | 0.42 ± 0.42 | 0.52 ± 0.39 | 0.01 ± 0.02 | <0.001 |
Values are expressed as mean ± SD or median (1st−3rd quartile). HCMV, human cytomegalovirus; EBV, Epstein–Barr virus; DMT, disease-modifying therapy (interferon-beta, n = 45; glatiramer acetate, n = 5), EDSS, Expanded Disability Status Scale; MSSS, multiple sclerosis severity score; 2y-RR, relapsing rate in the previous 2 years; ARR, annualized relapsing rate; RRMS, relapsing–remitting MS; SPMS, secondary progressive MS; PPMS, primary progressive MS.
*
P-values comparing controls and MS patients using t test or Mann–Whitney U-test.
#
P-values comparing RRMS, SPMS, and PPMS patients using one-way ANOVA.