Age-, Sex-, and Geographic Region-Specific Comorbidity in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: Determine how comorbidity prevalence varied by age, sex, and geographic region over a 7-year period. Background: Estimates of the prevalence of comorbidities in MS vary widely and may be affected by a range of population factors, such as sex and age. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with MS in a national, commercial, US managed care database (IMS LifeLink PharMetrics Plus™) from 2006-2012. Comorbidity rates in patients with MS were evaluated as exploratory bivariate analyses and compared with national rates for all Results: Hypertension (42.8[percnt]) and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders (43.2[percnt]) were the most common comorbidities identified from the administrative claims data, followed by thyroid disease (27.3[percnt]), arthritis (24.5[percnt]), anxiety (23.1[percnt]), diabetes (15.4[percnt]), and depression (13.0[percnt]). Rates were generally higher than national rates. Prevalence of measured comorbidities decreased for patients diagnosed from 2009-2012, except for anxiety, which increased after 2009. Anxiety, depression, arthritis, GI disorders, and thyroid disease were more prevalent among females (thyroid disease 2x as prevalent, anxiety 1.5x, depression 1.4x, arthritis and GI 1.2x). Diabetes and hypertension were more prevalent among males (1.2x more prevalent). GI disorders, hypertension, thyroid disease, arthritis, and diabetes were more prevalent among older patients. Patients aged 18-44 and 45-64 years had higher levels of anxiety and depression versus patients aged 65 years. Patients in the West had the lowest levels of comorbidities; patients in the Northeast had higher levels of thyroid disease, arthritis, anxiety, and diabetes; patients in the Midwest had higher rates of depression; patients in the South had higher rates of GI disorders and hypertension. Conclusions: These exploratory bivariate analyses suggest that comorbidities vary by age, sex, and region. Study supported by: EMD Serono, Inc., Rockland, MA, USA (a business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany); Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. Disclosure: Dr. Edwards has received personal compensation as a consultant. Dr. Phillips has received personal compensation for activities with EMD Serono, Inc. as an employee. Dr. Locklear has received personal compensation for activities with EMD Serono as an employee.