Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Aug;124(2):135-41.
doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2010.01436.x. Epub 2010 Sep 29.

Association between comorbidity and clinical characteristics of MS

R A Marrie  1 , R I Horwitz, G Cutter, T Tyry, T Vollmer
Affiliations

Association between comorbidity and clinical characteristics of MS

R A Marrie et al. Acta Neurol Scand. 2011 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Comorbidity may be associated with the clinical phenotype of disease and may affect prognostication and treatment decisions. Using the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Registry, we described comorbidities present at onset and diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and examined whether comorbidities present at onset were associated with clinical course or age of MS symptom onset.

Methods: In 2006, 8983 participants reported their physical and mental comorbidities; smoking status; height; and past and present weight. We compared clinical course at onset and age of symptom onset by comorbidity status.

Results: At MS onset, a substantial proportion of participants had physical (24%) or mental (8.4%) comorbidities. The mean (SD) age of MS onset was 31.2 (9.0) years. Vascular, autoimmune, cancer, visual, and musculoskeletal comorbidities were associated with a later age of symptom onset. Among men and women, the odds of a relapsing course at onset were increased if mental comorbidities (OR 1.48; 1.08-2.01) were present at symptom onset. In women, gastrointestinal comorbidities (OR 1.78; 1.25-2.52) and obesity (OR 2.08 1.53-2.82) at MS onset were also associated with a relapsing course at onset.

Conclusions: Comorbidity is frequently present at onset of MS and is associated with differences in clinical characteristics.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. De Reuck J, De Weweire M, Van Maele G, Santens P. Comparison of age of onset and development of motor complications between smokers and non-smokers in Parkinson's disease. Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2005;231:35–39. - PubMed
    1. Healy BC, Ali EN, Guttmann CRG, et al. Smoking and disease progression in multiple sclerosis. Archives of Neurology. 2009;66:858–864. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marrie RA, Horwitz R, Cutter G, Tyry T, Campagnolo D, Vollmer T. Comorbidity, socioeconomic status, and multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis. 2008;14:1091–1098. - PubMed
    1. Karni A, Abramsky O. Association of MS with thyroid disorders. Neurology. 1999;53:883–885. - PubMed
    1. Schmidt S, Wessels L, Augustin A, Klockgether T. Patients with multiple sclerosis and concomitant uveitis/periphlebitis retinae are not distinct from those without intraocular inflammation. Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2001;187:49–53. - PubMed

Publication types