Observational studyJournal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry2023
Association between early treatment of multiple sclerosis and patient-reported outcomes: a nationwide observational cohort study.
Observational study in Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Rituximab in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: a meta-analysis.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Disease outcomes with ublituximab in treatment-naïve participants: subpopulation analyses of the phase 3 ULTIMATE I and II studies in participants with relapsing multiple sclerosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Trial
- Evaluating the Impact of Teriflunomide and Dimethyl Fumarate on Quality of Life in Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Insights from Eastern Saudi Arabia.Annals of African medicine · 2025Article
- Refining Prognostic Factors in Adult-Onset Multiple Sclerosis: A Narrative Review of Current Insights.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- High-risk populations should be screened for MS: Yes.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2025Article
- Evaluating natalizumab first-line and later-line use in multiple sclerosis: a US claims database analysis.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2025Article
- Racial disparities in acute care utilization among individuals with myasthenia gravis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- MS brain health quality standards: a survey on the reality in clinical practice in Germany.Neurological research and practice · 2024Article
- Assessing disease progression and treatment response in progressive multiple sclerosis.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2024Review
- Holistic, Long-Term Management of People with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis with Cladribine Tablets: Expert Opinion from France.Neurology and therapy · 2024Review
- Consensus quality indicators for monitoring multiple sclerosis.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2024Review
- Disease-modifying therapy initiation patterns in multiple sclerosis in three large MS populations.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2024Article
- The global patient-reported outcomes for multiple sclerosis initiative: bridging the gap between clinical research and care - updates at the 2023 plenary event.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Review
- MS care: integrating advanced therapies and holistic management.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Review
- Real-world clinical utility of a multi-protein, blood-based biomarker assay for disease activity assessments in multiple sclerosis.Multiple sclerosis journal - experimental, translational and clinicalArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTiming of disease-modifying therapy affects clinical disability in multiple sclerosis, but it is not known whether patient reported outcomes are also affected. This study investigates the relationship between treatment timing and patient-reported symptoms and health-related quality of life.
methodsThis was a nationwide observational cohort study of adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis, with disease onset between 2001 and 2016, and commenced on disease-modifying treatment within 4 years from disease onset. Patients commencing treatment within 0-2 years were compared with patients commencing treatment at 2-4 years. Indication bias was mitigated by propensity matching. Outcomes were patient-reported symptoms and health-related quality of life as measured by the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) and EuroQol-5 Dimensions-3 Level (EQ-5D). The follow-up period was 4-10 years from disease onset.
resultsThere were 2648 patients (69% female, median age 32.8) eligible for matching. Mean follow-up time was 3.7 years. Based on 780 matched patients, each year of treatment delay was associated with a worse MSIS physical score by 2.75 points (95% CI 1.29 to 4.20), and worse MSIS psychological score by 2.02 points (95% CI 0.03 to 3.78), in the adjusted models.Among 690 matched patients, earlier treatment start was not associated with EQ-5D score during the follow-up.
conclusionsEarlier commencement of disease-modifying treatment was associated with better patient-reported physical symptoms when measured using a disease-specific metric; however, general quality of life was not affected. This indicates that other factors may inform patients' overall quality of life.
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