SynthesisPloS one2022
Spatial and temporal distribution of the prevalence of unemployment and early retirement in people with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review with meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 5 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Diabetes mellitus and risk of multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Pooled it
- Environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Work Barriers and Job Adjustments of People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2023Pooled it
- Occupational risk factors for multiple sclerosis: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Occupational outcomes of people with multiple sclerosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Toward the Search for Clinical and Cognitive Variables that Affect Employment in LATAM: a Multicenter Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Factors influencing employment and absenteeism in working age people with multiple sclerosis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Patient Experiences with the Impacts of Multiple Sclerosis & Disease-Modifying Therapies.ClinicoEconomics and outcomes research : CEOR · 2025Article
- Occupational Physicians' Management of Workers With Multiple Sclerosis in Italy: Results From a Survey.La Medicina del lavoro · 2024Article
- Job Retention by People With Disabilities: A Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of People With Multiple Sclerosis.La Medicina del lavoro · 2024Article
- Exploring the working life of people with multiple sclerosis during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Recent trends in disease-modifying therapy use and associated sickness absence and disability pension among people with multiple sclerosis in Sweden.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2024Article
- Dual-task difficulties as a risk factor for unemployment in people with multiple sclerosis.Brain and behavior · 2023Article
- Employment status, productivity loss, and associated factors among people with multiple sclerosis.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2023Article
- Desired clinic characteristics and unmet support needs for adults with multiple sclerosis: A cross-sectional survey.Multiple sclerosis journal - experimental, translational and clinicalArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWe aimed to summarise the prevalence of unemployment and early retirement among people with MS and analyze data according to a spatio-temporal perspective.
methodsWe undertook a systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, SciVerse ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. We included any peer-reviewed original article reporting the prevalence of unemployment and early retirement in the working-age population with MS. We excluded articles off-topic, with other study designs, whose study sample were unlikely to be representative of the MS population and in case of unavailability of the full text or essential information. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to measure overall prevalence estimates of unemployment and early retirement. We used meta-regression and subgroup analysis to evaluate potential moderators of prevalence estimates and the leave-one-out method for sensitivity analyses.
resultsOur research identified 153 studies across 29 countries encompassing 188436 subjects with MS. The pooled overall effect size for unemployment and early retirement was 35.6% (95% CI 32.8-38.4; I2 = 99.31) and 17.2% (95% CI 14.6-20.2; I2 = 99.13), respectively. The prevalence of unemployment varied according to the year of publication (p < 0.001) and there was a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of unemployment over time (p = 0.042). Regarding early retirement, only seven (31.8%) estimates obtained from studies that were published before 2010 were below the overall effect size in comparison to 27 (60.0%) estimates extracted from data published between 2010 and 2021 (p = 0.039). There was a significant difference in prevalence according to countries (p < 0.001). Psychiatric illness was an important clinical feature responsible for patients leaving the workforce in regions with a high MS prevalence.
conclusionsUnemployment and early retirement due to MS remain highly prevalent, despite a slight decline in the last decade. The prevalence of unemployment and early retirement varies globally.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.