Key clinical point : Patients with newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis (MS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) are more likely to have subtly impaired cognitive function irrespective of race/ethnicity.
Major finding : Mean oral Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) scores were lower in patients with MS/CIS vs. control participants (52.2 vs. 58.3; P less than .0001). Independent predictors of lower oral SDMT scores included being black (β = −5.97) or Hispanic (β = −3.06), having MS ( β = −6.04), lower educational attainment ( β = −5.02), and having a household income ≤$65,000 ( β = −2.28). No significant interaction was found between race/ethnicity and having MS on SDMT scores ( P = .41).
Study details : 1,174 adult patients (mean age, 40.7 years) from the MS Sunshine Study were included in this analysis (MS/CIS cases, n = 554; matched control participants, n = 620).
Disclosures: This study was supported in part by the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke. The presenting author received personal compensation or funding from Genzyme, Biogen, Serrono, MedDay, and Novartis, and grant support from the NIH, the National MS Society, California Community Foundation, and the Charitable Guthy-Jackson Foundation.
Citation: Amezcua L et al. Neurology. 2020 Mar 9. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009210.