Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39772662›Full record

ArticleNeurology2025

Inequities in the Use of Disease-Modifying Therapy Among Adults Living With Multiple Sclerosis in Urban and Rural Areas in Alberta, Canada.

Erin F Balcom, Jennifer A Mccombe, Mahesh P Kate, Khanh Vu, Karen J B Martins, Sylvia Aponte-Hao, Lawrence Richer, Tyler Williamson, Scott W Klarenbach, Penelope S Smyth

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Erin F BalcomDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Jennifer A MccombeDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-9581-5090
Mahesh P KateDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-4794-2882
Khanh VuReal World Evidence Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Karen J B MartinsDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-3400-7214
Sylvia Aponte-HaoAlberta Health Services, Calgary, Canada.
Lawrence RicherDepartment of Paediatrics, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Tyler WilliamsonAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary Libin Cardiovascular Institute, O'Brien Institute for Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, Edmonton, Canada; and.
Scott W KlarenbachDepartment of Medicine, Real World Evidence Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Penelope S SmythDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo compare disease-modifying therapy (DMT) use between people living with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) who resided in rural vs urban areas.

methodsThis retrospective cohort study used population-level individually linked administrative data to identify pwMS on April 1, 2019 (index date), in Alberta, Canada. DMT use was compared between pwMS who resided in rural vs urban areas during a 1-year postindex period. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and logistic regression (with 95% confidence intervals) were applied.

resultsPwMS (n = 4,593) who resided in rural areas (vs urban) were 17% less likely to have received a DMT (odds ratio: 0.83 [0.69-0.99]; SEM total β: -0.032, DISCUSSION: PwMS residing in rural (vs urban) Alberta are less likely to receive any DMT, especially induction/higher-efficacy therapy; this inequality may be mediated by socioeconomic status and geography. Identifying and overcoming barriers to optimal clinical care in this patient population is needed.

Indexed as

Healthcare DisparitiesMultiple SclerosisRural PopulationUrban PopulationAdultAgedAlbertaCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID39772662
PMCPMC11708828

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.