Mortality in patients with multiple sclerosis
Abstract
Mortality in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is significantly increased compared with the general population. Many questions concerning survival in MS are still unanswered due to the difficulty of comparing information collected at different times and in different geographic areas. The increasing incidence of MS, the improvement in care of the chronically disabled, and different methodologies may explain the lack of coherence among studies' results. Reported times to death from birth and from disease onset/diagnosis are highly variable. Patients older at onset or with primary progressive course have shorter survival; however, data on sex and mortality are contradictory. Changes in sex ratio in MS over time represent one possible explanation. MS is the main cause of death in ≥50% of patients and the incidence of deaths not due to MS varies among countries. Particularly, suicide is substantially increased in patients with MS, and, despite its varying incidence, mainly due to “cultural bias,” it should be considered an MS-related cause of death. Recent results of the long-term follow-up study of interferon-β-1b demonstrated a significant reduction of mortality among treated patients. Notwithstanding its long latency, mortality is therefore an unambiguously valid long-term outcome in randomized controlled trials. It usefully combines the net impact of treatment efficacy on longevity and adverse events, which may reduce it.
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Information & Authors
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Copyright
© 2013 American Academy of Neurology.
Publication History
Received: October 30, 2012
Accepted: March 26, 2013
Published in print: July 9, 2013
Published online: September 13, 2023
Authors
Author Contributions
Antonio Scalfari: critical revision of the manuscript for intellectual content. Volker Knappertz: study concept and design, acquisition of data. Gary Cutter: critical revision of the manuscript for intellectual content. Douglas S. Goodin: critical revision of the manuscript for intellectual content. Raymond Ashton: critical revision of the manuscript for intellectual content. George C. Ebers: study concept and design, acquisition of data.
Disclosure
A. Scalfari reports no disclosures. V. Knappertz is a full-time employee of AstraZeneca and holds stock and stock options in the company. G. Cutter participates on Data and Safety Monitoring Committees for Apotek, Biogen-Idec, Cleveland Clinic, Glaxo Smith Klein Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Pharmaceuticals, Modigenetech/Prolor, Merck/Ono Pharmaceuticals, Merck, Neuren, Revalesio, Sanofi-Aventis, Teva, Vivus, NHLBI (Protocol Review Committee), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NMSS, and NICHD (OPRU oversight committee); has served as a consultant/on advisory boards/and received speaker honoraria from Alexion, Allozyne, Bayer, Celgene, Coronado Biosciences, Consortium of MS Centers (grant), Diogenix, Klein-Buendel Incorporated, Medimmune, Novartis, Nuron Biotech, Receptos, Spiniflex Pharmaceuticals, and Teva pharmaceuticals; and is employed by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and President of Pythagoras, Inc., a private consulting company located in Birmingham. D.S. Goodin has participated (or is currently participating) in several industry-sponsored clinical trials in MS. The sponsoring pharmaceutical companies for these trials have included (or do include) Ares-Serono, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Berlex Laboratories, Bayer-Schering Healthcare, Biogen-Idec, Schering AG, and Teva Neuroscience. He has also lectured at both medical conferences and in public on various aspects of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of MS. In many cases, these talks have been sponsored directly or indirectly by one or another of the above listed companies. He has also served as a temporary ad hoc consultant to several of these organizations on several occasions. R. Ashton is a salaried employee of PAREXEL MMS. G. Ebers has been a consultant for Bayer HealthCare and has received funding for research into the natural history of MS from Bayer HealthCare. He has served on a Data Monitoring committee for MedImmune, has had travel funded by EMD Serono, has received honoraria for speaking at meetings from EMD Serono, Danone, and Merck. Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures.
Study Funding
No targeted funding reported.
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