ArticleNeurology2016
Sex differences in comorbidity at diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: A population-based study.
Article in Neurology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Bipolar disorder in people with multiple sclerosis: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Measures of Comorbidities and Frailty in Multiple Sclerosis-Systematic Review on Evidence and Applicability of Utilized Scoring Systems in Clinical Routine and Real-World Data.European journal of neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Investigating the Prevalence of Comorbidity in Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trial Populations.Neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Polygenicity of Comorbid Depression in Multiple Sclerosis.Neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2022Pooled it
- A global view of comorbidity in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review with a focus on regional differences, methodology, and clinical implications.Journal of neurology · 2021Pooled it
- Multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neurology · 2017Pooled it
- Comorbidity is associated with disease activity in MS: Findings from the CombiRx trial.Neurology · 2020Trial
- Sex-related and age-related differences in healthcare use before multiple sclerosis symptom onset: a matched cohort study.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2026Article
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus in people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2026Review
- Psychiatric comorbidities in multiple sclerosis patients and their relationship with clinical variables: A university hospital sample.Dusunen adam : Bakirkoy Ruh ve Sinir Hastaliklari Hastanesi yayin organi · 2026Article
- Comorbidities at MS Diagnosis and Their Association With Treatment Persistence: Real-World Clinical Data.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Investigating the treatment of vascular risk with simvastatin in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: analysis from the MS-STAT2 randomized controlled trial.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Comorbidity and modifiable risk factors in multiple sclerosis.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2026Review
- Phenotyping Healthcare Use 2-3 Decades Before the First Multiple Sclerosis Demyelinating Event.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2025Article
- Sex differences in age-associated neurological diseases-A roadmap for reliable and high-yield research.Science advances · 2025Review
- Trajectories and management of vascular risk following the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: A population-based matched cohort study between 1987 and 2018 in England.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2024Article
- Review
- Building and validating trend-based multiple sclerosis case definitions: a population-based cohort study for Manitoba, Canada.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Management of multiple sclerosis in older adults: review of current evidence and future perspectives.Journal of neurology · 2024Review
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine the prevalence of comorbidity in the multiple sclerosis (MS) population at the time of MS diagnosis. We also compared the prevalence of comorbidity in the MS population to that in a matched cohort from the general population.
methodsUsing population-based administrative health data from 4 Canadian provinces, we identified 23,382 incident MS cases and 116,638 age-, sex-, and geographically matched controls. We estimated the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, chronic lung disease, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia at MS diagnosis using validated case definitions. We compared the populations using rate ratios.
resultsOf the MS cases, 16,803 (71.9%) were female. The most prevalent comorbidity was depression (19.1%). Compared to the matched population, all comorbidities except hyperlipidemia were more common in the MS population. Relative to the matched populations, the prevalence of hypertension was 16% higher for women with MS and 48% higher for men with MS, thus there was a disproportionately higher prevalence of hypertension in men with MS than women. Men with MS also had a disproportionately higher prevalence than women with MS for diabetes, epilepsy, depression, and anxiety.
conclusionsComorbidity is more common than expected in MS, even around the time of diagnosis. The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity is particularly high and highlights the need for clinical attention to this issue. The observed sex-specific differences in the burden of comorbidity in MS, which differ from those in the matched population, warrant further investigation.
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Registered trials
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