Table 1 Baseline sociodemographic and clinical patient characteristics
|  | Total sample° N=580 | Worsened patients* N=107 | Not-worsened patients* | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Female, n (%) | Â | 419 (72.2) | 75 (70.1) | 300 (71.9) | 0.71 |
Age (years) | M (SD) | 41.3 (10.2) | 43.2 (10.2) | 40.9 (10.1) | 0.03 |
| Â | Min, max | 18, 71 | 19, 64 | 18, 69 | Â |
Marital status, n (%) | Cohabiting/married | 393 (67.8) | 73 (68.2) | 282 (67.6) | 0.91 |
| Â | Divorced/separated/single/widowed | 187 (32.2) | 34 (31.8) | 73 (68.2) | Â |
Employment status, n (%) | Employed | 335 (57.8) | 59 (55.1) | 241 (57.8) | 0.62 |
| Â | Unemployed/homemaker/retired/student | 245 (42.2) | 48 (44.9) | 176 (42.2) | Â |
Educational level, n (%) | Elementary school | 113 (19.5) | 31 (28.4) | 76 (18.2) | 0.03 |
College | 81 (14.0) | 9 (8.3) | 61 (14.6) | ||
High school/university | 386 (66.6) | 67 (63.3) | 280 (67.1) | ||
EDSS score | M (SD) | 2.9 (1.9) | 3.5 (2.2) | 2.8 (1.8) | <10 -3 |
Median | 2.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 | ||
Min, max | 0.0, 7.5 | 0.0, 7.0 | 0.0, 7.0 | ||
MS course, n (%) | Relapsing-remitting | 510 (87.9) | 79 (73.8) | 381 (91.4) | <10 -3 |
Secondary progressive | 53 (9.1) | 18 (16.8) | 30 (7.2) | ||
Primary progressive | 12 (2.1) | 8 (7.5) | 2 (0.5) | ||
Primary relapsing | 5 (0.9) | 2 (1.9) | 4 (1.0) | ||
Time since first MS symptom (years) | M (SD) | 10.0 (7.5) | 10.2 (8.1) | 9.9 (7.2) | 0.73 |
| Â | Min, max | 0, 45 | 0, 45 | 0.0, 40 | Â |