Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42523138›Full record

ArticleMultiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)2026

Association between pregnancy timing and disability outcomes in women with mild relapse-onset multiple sclerosis.

Jessica Shipley, Chao Zhu, Paul G Sanfilippo, Olga Skibina, Tomas Kalincik, Raed Alroughani, Bruce V Taylor, Richard Macdonell, Vicki E Maltby, Jeannette Lechner-Scott and 4 more

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Article in Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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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.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Jessica ShipleyDepartment of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Chao ZhuDepartment of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Paul G SanfilippoDepartment of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Olga SkibinaDepartment of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Neurology, Box Hill Hospital, Box Hill, VIC, Australia.
Tomas KalincikCORe, Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Neuroimmunology Centre, Department of Neurology, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3778-1376
Raed AlroughaniDepartment of Neurology, Al-Amiri Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Bruce V TaylorMultiple Sclerosis - Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Dynnyrne, TAS, Australia.
Richard MacdonellDepartment of Neurology, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.
Vicki E MaltbyDepartment of Neurology, John Hunter Hospital, New Lambton Heights, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, New Lambton Heights, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3785-4742
Jeannette Lechner-ScottDepartment of Neurology, John Hunter Hospital, New Lambton Heights, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, New Lambton Heights, NSW, Australia.
Heidi N BeadnallMultiple Sclerosis Clinic, Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Anneke van der WaltDepartment of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4278-7003
Helmut ButzkuevenDepartment of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3940-8727
Vilija G JokubaitisDepartment of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3942-4340

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPregnancy does not adversely affect disability outcomes in women with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, it remains uncertain whether pregnancy is associated with slower disability accumulation, and whether this association differs according to the timing of pregnancy during the disease course.

methodsThis observational cohort study used prospectively ascertained data in the international MSBase Registry (1991-2022), supplemented with retrospective surveys detailing participants' complete pregnancy histories. The study included women with mild relapse-onset MS, defined as an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of 2.5 or below. A flexible parametric survival model was used to assess the time-varying effect of live-birth pregnancy on reaching sustained EDSS 3.

resultsWe included 2079 women, of whom 571 had a live-birth pregnancy after baseline. Live-birth pregnancies occurring within the first 4.42 years of follow-up were associated with longer time to sustained EDSS 3. At 10 years, live birth was associated with an absolute cumulative difference of 0.51 years in time to this disability milestone (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.23, 0.79). Among women with live births, postpartum relapses were associated with shorter time to sustained EDSS 3 (hazard ratio (HR): 1.61; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.55).

conclusionLive-birth pregnancy occurring earlier in follow-up was associated with a longer time to disability accrual.

Indexed as

disabilityMultiple sclerosisoutcomes researchpregnancy

Identifiers

PMID42523138

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