Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40108398›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Financial burden of out of pocket nonpharmacological therapies in an Austrian multiple sclerosis cohort.

Tiago Lerda Casaccia, Simon Hefner, Jonas Strauss, Lara Bieler, Kliushnikova Dariia, Maria Gabriel, Wolfgang Hitzl, Eugen Trinka, Peter Wipfler, Tobias Moser

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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.

Tiago Lerda CasacciaDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Simon HefnerDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Jonas StraussDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Lara BielerDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Kliushnikova DariiaDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Maria GabrielDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Wolfgang HitzlResearch Management (RM): Biostatistics and Publication of Clinical Studies Team, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
Eugen TrinkaDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Peter WipflerDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Tobias MoserDepartment of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, European Reference Network EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria. t.moser@salk.at.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Given the financial constraints in public healthcare, we investigated the monthly out-of-pocket expenses for non-pharmacological treatments among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurological disorder that primarily affects individuals of working age. This cross-sectional study employed an online questionnaire to evaluate the expenses and utilization of non-pharmacological treatments, as well as the weekly working hours among 104 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS, 79%), secondary progressive MS (SPMS, 12%), and primary progressive MS (PPMS, 10%). Non-pharmacological treatments were used by 82% of participants (vitamin D (43%), physiotherapy (31%), massage (21%), magnesium (19%)). The average monthly out-of-pocket expenses were 136 EUR (SD ± 218) and significantly higher among individuals with PPMS (337 EUR SD ± 354) compared to RRMS (110 EUR SD ± 195; p = 0.01). The average weekly working hours were 26 and significantly lower among individuals with PPMS (11 h/week, SD ± 16; p = 0.008) and SPMS (13 h/week, SD ± 16; p = 0.001) compared to the RRMS cohort (30 h/week, SD ± 15). Working hours were not related to individual monthly costs. This study reveals substantial expenses incurred by individuals with MS in Austria, particularly those with PPMS, highlighting the willingness to actively participate in their disease management. Physicians should be aware of the financial resources and inform about available evidence on non-pharmacological treatment approaches.

Indexed as

Cost of IllnessHealth ExpendituresMultiple SclerosisAdultAustriaCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMultiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-RemittingPhysical Therapy ModalitiesSurveys and QuestionnairesAlternative therapiesDietary supplementsFinancial burdenHealth economicsMultiple sclerosis

Identifiers

PMID40108398
PMCPMC11923052

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.