Table 1.
Sociodemographic, clinical and pharmaceutical data of patients with MS, stratified by polypharmacy status.
| Total Polypharmacy | Rx Polypharmacy | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Patients | PwP | Pw/oP | p | PwP | Pw/oP | p | ||||||
| N | 627 | 334 (53.3%) | 293 (46.7%) | 242 (38.6%) | 385 (61.4%) | |||||||
| Sociodemographic data | ||||||||||||
| Sex | 0.793 Fi | 0.720 Fi | ||||||||||
| Male | 186 (29.7%) | 101 (30.2%) | 85 (29.0%) | 74 (30.6%) | 112 (29.1%) | |||||||
| Female | 441 (70.3%) | 233 (69.8%) | 208 (71.0%) | 168 (69.4%) | 273 (70.9%) | |||||||
| Age (years) | 19–86 R | 48.6 (13.3) a | 20–86 R | 53.0 (12.7) a | 19–74 R | 43.6 (12.2) a | <0.001 t | 24–86 R | 54.8 (12.1) a | 19–75 R | 44.7 (12.5) a | <0.001 t |
| School years | 6–18 R | 10.5 (1.3) a | 6–14 R | 10.3 (1.2) a | 8–18 R | 10.7 (1.3) a | <0.001 t | 6–14 R | 10.2 (1.2) a | 8–18 R | 10.7 (1.3) a | <0.001 t |
| Educational level | 0.019 Chi | 0.002 Chi | ||||||||||
| No training | 19 (3.0%) | 8 (2.4%) | 11 (3.8%) | 7 (2.9%) | 12 (3.1%) | |||||||
| Skilled worker | 398 (63.5%) | 229 (68.6%) | 169 (57.7%) | 173 (71.5%) | 225 (58.4%) | |||||||
| Technical college | 89 (14.2%) | 46 (13.8%) | 43 (14.7%) | 33 (13.6%) | 56 (14.5%) | |||||||
| University | 121 (19.3%) | 51 (15.3%) | 70 (23.9%) | 29 (12.0%) | 92 (23.9%) | |||||||
| Employment status | <0.001 Chi | <0.001 Chi | ||||||||||
| In training | 7 (1.1%) | 1 (0.3%) | 6 (2.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 7 (1.8%) | |||||||
| In studies | 6 (1.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 6 (2.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 6 (1.6%) | |||||||
| Employed | 269 (42.9%) | 92 (27.5%) | 177 (60.4%) | 53 (21.9%) | 216 (56.1%) | |||||||
| Unemployed | 25 (4.0%) | 10 (3.0%) | 15 (5.1%) | 7 (2.9%) | 18 (4.7%) | |||||||
| Disability-pensioned | 304 (48.5%) | 225 (67.4%) | 79 (27.0%) | 178 (73.6%) | 126 (32.7%) | |||||||
| Other | 16 (2.6%) | 6 (1.8%) | 10 (3.4%) | 4 (1.7%) | 12 (3.1%) | |||||||
| Partnership | 1.000 Fi | 0.305 Fi | ||||||||||
| No | 162 (25.8%) | 86 (25.7%) | 76 (25.9%) | 68 (28.1%) | 94 (24.4%) | |||||||
| Yes | 465 (74.2%) | 248 (74.3%) | 217 (74.1%) | 174 (71.9%) | 291 (75.6%) | |||||||
| Place of Residence | 0.288 Chi | 0.962 Chi | ||||||||||
| Rural community | 224 (35.7%) | 119 (35.6%) | 105 (35.8%) | 89 (36.8%) | 135 (35.1%) | |||||||
| Provincial town | 108 (17.2%) | 63 (18.9%) | 45 (15.4%) | 42 (17.4%) | 66 (17.1%) | |||||||
| Medium-sized town | 112 (17.9%) | 64 (19.2%) | 48 (16.4%) | 43 (17.8%) | 69 (17.9%) | |||||||
| City | 183 (29.2%) | 88 (26.3%) | 95 (32.4%) | 68 (28.1%) | 115 (29.9%) | |||||||
| Number of children | 0–4 R | 1 b | 0–4 R | 1 b | 0–4 R | 1 b | 0.089 U | 0–4 R | 1 b | 0–4 R | 1 b | 0.056 U |
| 0 | 169 (27.0%) | 77 (23.1%) | 92 (31.4%) | 54 (22.3%) | 115 (29.9%) | |||||||
| 1 | 170 (27.1%) | 98 (29.3%) | 72 (24.6%) | 68 (28.1%) | 102 (26.5%) | |||||||
| ≥2 | 288 (45.9%) | 159 (47.6%) | 129 (44.0%) | 120 (49.6%) | 168 (43.6%) | |||||||
| Number of siblings | 0–13 R | 1 b | 0–13 R | 1 b | 0–11 R | 1 b | 0.081 U | 0–13 R | 1 b | 0–11 R | 1 b | 0.018 U |
| 0 | 71 (11.3%) | 33 (9.9%) | 38 (13.0%) | 26 (10.7%) | 45 (11.7%) | |||||||
| 1 | 305 (48.6%) | 160 (47.9%) | 145 (49.5%) | 103 (42.6%) | 202 (52.5%) | |||||||
| ≥2 | 251 (40.0%) | 141 (42.2%) | 110 (37.5%) | 113 (46.7%) | 138 (35.8%) | |||||||
| Clinical data | ||||||||||||
| EDSS | 0–9 R | 3.5 b | 0–9 R | 4.5 b | 0–7.5 R | 2.0 b | <0.001 U | 0–9 R | 5.0 b | 0–7.5 R | 2.5 b | <0.001 U |
| Disease duration (years) | 0–52 R | 10 b | 0–50 R | 12.5 b | 0–52 R | 9 b | <0.001 U | 0–50 R | 14 b | 0–52 R | 9 b | <0.001 U |
| Age at MS onset | 9–75 R | 35 b | 9–75 R | 38 b | 12–62 R | 32 b | <0.001 U | 9–75 R | 39 b | 12–69 R | 33 b | <0.001 U |
| Disease course | <0.001 Chi | <0.001 Chi | ||||||||||
| CIS/RRMS | 415 (66.2%) | 158 (47.3%) | 257 (87.7%) | 91 (37.6%) | 324 (84.2%) | |||||||
| SPMS | 154 (24.6%) | 125 (37.4%) | 29 (9.9%) | 109 (45.0%) | 45 (11.7%) | |||||||
| PPMS | 58 (9.3%) | 51 (15.3%) | 7 (2.4%) | 42 (17.4%) | 16 (4.2%) | |||||||
| Comorbidities | 0–9 R | 1 b | 0–9 R | 2 b | 0–5 R | 1 b | <0.001 U | 0–9 R | 3 b | 0–7 R | 1 b | <0.001 U |
| 0 | 184 (29.3%) | 46 (13.8%) | 138 (47.1%) | 24 (9.9%) | 160 (41.6%) | |||||||
| 1 | 150 (23.9%) | 60 (18.0%) | 90 (30.7%) | 39 (16.1%) | 111 (28.8%) | |||||||
| 2 | 122 (19.5%) | 76 (22.8%) | 46 (15.7%) | 50 (20.7%) | 72 (18.7%) | |||||||
| 3 | 82 (13.1%) | 71 (21.3%) | 11 (3.8%) | 58 (24.0%) | 24 (6.2%) | |||||||
| 4 | 50 (8.0%) | 44 (13.2%) | 6 (2.0%) | 35 (14.5%) | 15 (3.9%) | |||||||
| ≥5 | 39 (6.2%) | 37 (11.1%) | 2 (0.7%) | 36 (14.9%) | 3 (0.8%) | |||||||
| Pharmaceutical data | ||||||||||||
| Number of total drugs taken | 0–19 R | 5.3 (3.3) c | 5–19 R | 7.8 (2.7) c | 0–4 R | 2.6 (1.1) c | <0.001 t | 5–19 R | 8.5 (2.7) c | 0–9 R | 3.3 (1.7) c | <0.001 t |
| 0–4 | 293 (46.7%) | 0 (0.0%) | 293 (100.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 293 (76.1%) | |||||||
| 5–9 | 261 (41.6%) | 261 (78.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | 169 (69.8%) | 92 (23.9%) | |||||||
| ≥10 | 73 (11.6%) | 73 (21.9%) | 0 (0.0%) | 73 (30.2%) | 0 (0.0%) | |||||||
| Duration of use | ||||||||||||
| Long-term drugs | 0–16 R | 4.6 (3.1) c | 1–16 R | 6.7 (2.7) c | 0–4 R | 2.2 (1.1) c | <0.001 t | 1–16 R | 7.4 (2.7) c | 0–9 R | 2.8 (1.7) c | <0.001 t |
| PRN drugs | 0–7 R | 0.8 (1.2) c | 0–7 R | 1.1 (1.4) c | 0–4 R | 0.4 (0.7) c | <0.001 t | 0–7 R | 1.2 (1.4) c | 0–6 R | 0.6 (0.9) c | <0.001 t |
| Rx vs. OTC | ||||||||||||
| Rx drugs | 0–18 R | 4.2 (3.0) c | 1–18 R | 6.2 (2.8) c | 0–4 R | 1.9 (1.0) c | <0.001 t | 5–18 R | 7.3 (2.4) c | 0–4 R | 2.2 (1.2) c | <0.001 t |
| OTC drugs | 0–8 R | 1.1 (1.3) c | 0–8 R | 1.6 (1.4) c | 0–3 R | 0.6 (0.8) c | <0.001 t | 0–6 R | 1.2 (1.3) c | 0–8 R | 1.1 (1.3) c | 0.206 t |
| Drug purpose | ||||||||||||
| DMD | 0–2 R | 0.9 (0.4) c | 0–2 R | 0.9 (0.4) c | 0–2 R | 0.8 (0.4) c | 0.004 t | 0–2 R | 0.9 (0.4) c | 0–2 R | 0.8 (0.4) c | <0.001 t |
| Symptomatic drugs | 0–9 R | 2.0 (2.0) c | 0–9 R | 3.1 (2.0) c | 0–3 R | 0.7 (0.9) c | <0.001 t | 0–9 R | 3.3 (2.0) c | 0–9 R | 1.2 (1.4) c | <0.001 t |
| Comorbidity drugs | 0–14 R | 2.5 (2.4) c | 0–14 R | 3.8 (2.6) c | 0–4 R | 1.0 (0.9) c | <0.001 t | 0–14 R | 4.3 (2.7) c | 0–7 R | 1.3 (1.3) c | <0.001 t |
Total polypharmacy = intake of at least five drugs (of any kind). Rx polypharmacy = intake of at least five drugs that were prescribed (neglecting OTC drugs). a—mean value (standard deviation); b—median; c—average number of drugs taken per patient (standard deviation); Chi—chi-squared test; CIS—clinically isolated syndrome; DMD—disease-modifying drug; EDSS—Expanded Disability Status Scale; Fi—Fisher’s exact test; MS—multiple sclerosis; N—number of patients; OTC—over the counter; p—p-value for comparing patients with and without polypharmacy; PwP—patients with polypharmacy; Pw/oP—patients without polypharmacy; PPMS—primary progressive multiple sclerosis; PRN—pro re nata (on demand); R—range; RRMS—relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis; Rx—prescription; t—two-sample two-tailed Welch t-test; U—Mann–Whitney U test.