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Abstract

Background: The direct comparative evidence on treatment effects of available multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is limited, and few studies have examined the benefits of DMTs on employment outcomes. We compared the effects of DMTs used in the previous 5 years on improving the work attendance, amount of work and work productivity of people with MS.Methods: The Australian MS Longitudinal Study collected data from participants on DMTs usage from 2010 to 2015 and whether DMTs contributed to changes in employment outcomes. We classified 11 DMTs into three categories based on their clinical efficacy (β-interferons and glatiramer acetate as category 1; teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate as category 2; fingolimod, natalizumab, alemtuzumab and mitoxantrone as category 3). Each DMT used by a participant was treated as one observation and analysed by log-multinomial regression.Results: Of the 874 participants included, 1384 observations were generated. Those who used category 3 (higher efficacy) DMTs were 2-3 times more likely to report improvements in amount of work, work attendance and work productivity compared with those who used category 1 (classical injectable) DMTs. Natalizumab was associated with superior beneficial effects on patient-reported employment outcomes than fingolimod (RR=1.76, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.03 for increased work attendance and RR=1.46, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.10 for increased work productivity).Conclusions: Those using the higher efficacy (category 3) DMTs, particularly fingolimod and natalizumab, reported significant increases in amount of work, work attendance and work productivity, suggesting they have important beneficial effects on work life in people with MS.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Chen, Jing and Taylor, BV and Blizzard, L and Simpson Jr, S and Palmer, AJ and van der Mei, IAF
Keywords:	disease-modifying therapy, employment, fingolimod, multiple sclerosis, natalizumab
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
Publisher:	B M J Publishing Group
ISSN:	0022-3050
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2018-318228
Copyright Information:	© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018.
Related URLs:	UTAS Profile: Taylor, BV UTAS Profile: Blizzard, L UTAS Profile: Simpson Jr, S UTAS Profile: Palmer, AJ Google Scholar: van der Mei, IAF UTAS Profile: van der Mei, IAF
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