Investigation of heterogeneity in the association between interferon beta and disability progression in multiple sclerosis: an observational study

Subscribe to email list

Please select the email list(s) to which you wish to subscribe.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA

Enter the characters shown in the image.

User menu

You are here

Investigation of heterogeneity in the association between interferon beta and disability progression in multiple sclerosis: an observational study

TitleInvestigation of heterogeneity in the association between interferon beta and disability progression in multiple sclerosis: an observational study
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsShirani, A, Zhao, Y, Karim, ME, Petkau, J, Gustafson, P, Evans, C, Kingwell, E, van der Kop, ML, Oger, J, Tremlett, H
JournalEuropean Journal of Neurology
Volume21
Pagination835–844
KeywordsBritish Columbia, disability progression, interferon beta, multiple sclerosis, observational studies
Abstract

Background and purpose It was recently reported that there was no significant overall association between interferon beta exposure and disability progression in relapsing−remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients in an observational study from Canada. In the current study, the potential for heterogeneity in the association between exposure to interferon beta and disability progression across patients' baseline characteristics was investigated. Methods RRMS patients treated with interferon beta (n = 868) and two cohorts of untreated patients (829 contemporary and 959 historical controls) were included. The main outcome was time from interferon beta treatment eligibility (baseline) to a confirmed and sustained Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score 6 using a multivariable Cox model, with treatment as a time-varying predictor, testing interaction effects for five pre-specified baseline characteristics: sex, age, disease duration, EDSS and annualized relapse rate (ARR) based on the previous 2 years. Results Significant heterogeneity was found in the association of interferon beta exposure and disability progression only across ARR, and only when treated patients were compared with historical controls (P = 0.005 at a Bonferroni-adjusted alpha of 0.01). For patients with ARR>1, treatment-exposed time was associated with a hazard ratio of 0.38 (95%CI 0.20–0.75) for disability progression compared with the unexposed time. Conclusions RRMS patients with more frequent relapses at baseline may be more likely to benefit from interferon beta treatment with respect to long-term disability progression.

URLhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ene.12324/abstract
DOI10.1111/ene.12324