Multiple Sclerosis in Older Adults: The Clinical Profile and Impact of Interferon Beta Treatment
Table 1
Characteristics of patients with late-onset versus adult-onset MS, British Columbia, Canada [aim 1].
Characteristics
Late-onset MS ()
Adult-onset MS ()
value
Sex, (%)
Male
132 (36.9)
1550 (27.5)
<0.
Female
226 (63.1)
4077 (72.5)
Age at onset, mean (±SD), median [range], years
55.4 (4.9), 54.1 [50.0–75.8]
32.0 (8.0), 31.2 [18.0–49.99]
<0
(%)
50–<55 yrs: 201 (56.1)
18–<30 yrs: 2539 (45.1)
55–<60 yrs: 104 (29.1)
30–<40 yrs: 2013 (35.8)
≥60 yrs: 53 (14.8)
40–<50 yrs: 1074 (19.1)
Onset symptoms, (%)
Motor
Present
140 (39.1)
1042 (18.5)
<0.
Absent
218 (60.9)
4585 (81.5)
Sensory
Present
107 (29.9)
2564 (45.6)
<0.
Absent
251 (70.1)
3063 (54.4)
Optic neuropathy
Present
20 (5.6)
949 (16.9)
<0.
Absent
338 (94.4)
4678 (83.1)
Cerebellar, ataxia, or brainstem
Present
71 (19.8)
849 (15.1)
0.
Absent
287 (80.2)
4778 (84.9)
Initial course, (%)
Relapsing
206 (57.5)
5167 (91.8)
<0
Primary-progressive
152 (42.5)
460 (8.2)
Age at first , mean (±SD), median [range], years
60.5 (6.4), 59.5 [50.4–81.0]
41.1 (10.3), 40.7 [18.4–80.9]
<0.
Disease duration at first , mean (±SD), median [range], years
5.2 (4.7), 3.7 [0.03–30.0]
9.1 (8.9), 6.2 [0.0–59.2]
<0.
Disease duration at last , mean (±SD), median [range], years
10.2 (5.7), 9.7 [0.3–30.3]
16.9 (10.4), 15.1 [0.00–60.2]
<0.
Length of prospective follow-up , mean (±SD), median [range], years
5.0 (4.2), 4.1 [0–19.3]
7.8 (6.5), 6.4 [0–28.4]
<0.
Annualized relapse rate during the first five years after onset of symptoms‡, mean (±SD), median [range]
0.2 (0.3), 0.2 [0–1.8]
0.3 (0.4), 0.2 [0–3.2]
0.
Year of registration with the clinic, (%)
1980–1985
51 (14.2)
979 (17.4)
0.
1986–1990
46 (12.8)
799 (14.2)
1991–1995
63 (17.6)
992 (17.6)
1996–2000
103 (28.8)
1568 (27.9)
2001–2004
95 (26.5)
1289 (22.9)
Exposure to a “disease modifying drug” for MS, (%)
Ever
70 (19.6)
2143 (38.1)
<0.
Never
288 (80.4)
3484 (61.9)
Exposure to a “disease modifying drug” for MS among patients with a relapsing-onset course only, (%)
Ever
63 (30.6)
2120 (41.0)
0.
Never
143 (69.4)
3047 (59.0)
Initially prescribed drug among patients with a relapsing-onset course only, (%)
Interferon beta-1a (intramuscular)
4 (6.3)
274 (12.9)
Interferon beta-1a (subcutaneous)
22 (34.9)
731 (34.5)
Interferon beta-1b (subcutaneous)
24 (38.1)
755 (35.6)
Glatiramer acetate
11 (17.5)
254 (12.0)
Natalizumab
0 (0)
9 (0.004)
Mitoxantrone
1 (1.6)
43 (2.0)
Other
1 (1.6)
54 (2.5)
EDSS, Expanded Disability Status Scale. Missing for 56 patients with adult-onset MS. †Time from first clinic visit to most recent clinic visit. ‡Only reported for patients with relapsing-onset MS with at least 5 years of follow-up after the onset of symptoms including 4578 patients with adult-onset MS and 163 with late-onset MS. Others included clinical trial drugs and cytotoxic immunosuppressants: teriflunomide (both cohorts) and in the adult-onset cohort, methotrexate, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, FTY720 (fingolimod), cladribine, Hu23F2G (rovelizumab), lenercept, MBP8298 (dirucotide), NBI-5788, paclitaxel, and interferon alpha. Pearson’s chi-square test. Student’s -test.
