Phenotyping Healthcare Use 2-3 Decades Before the First Multiple Sclerosis Demyelinating Event.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Phenotype hospital, physician, and emergency department (ED) visits by diagnoses and specialty up to 29 years pre-multiple sclerosis (MS) onset versus a matched population without MS.

Methods

We identified people with MS (PwMS) using population-based administrative data from Ontario, Canada (1991-2020). The first MS/demyelinating diagnostic code defined MS onset (the index date). Annual rates of healthcare use (hospital, physician, ED) by primary diagnosis (chapter-level) and physician specialty pre-index were compared between PwMS and up to 5 matched population comparators using overdispersed-Poisson regression.

Results

Up to 35,018 PwMS and 136,007 population comparators were included. Consistently elevated yearly physician visit rate ratios (RRs) were obs

SUBMITTER: Tremlett H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12343309 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature