TOPLINE:<\/p>\n
Healthcare use was elevated much earlier than previously recognized among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in new research. Physician visits for \u201cill-defined symptoms and signs\u201d increased from 15 years before MS symptom onset and mental health-related and psychiatry visits increased 14 years and 12 years before, respectively. However, nervous system-related and neurology visits increased significantly only 4 years and 8 years before the onset of MS symptoms.<\/p>\n
METHODOLOGY:The cohort study included more than 2000 patients with MS (mean age at symptom onset, 38 years; 74% women) with a known date of MS symptom onset. Data were obtained from the British Columbia MS clinical database (1991-2018).Each patient with MS was matched by sex, birth year, socioeconomic status, and postal code at the year of MS onset with up to five individuals without MS randomly selected from the general population in British Columbia.Researchers compared annual rates of physician visits during the 25 years before MS onset between the cohorts.They also compared the difference in annual physician visit rates during the 15 years before MS onset on the basis of the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision chapter and physician specialty.TAKEAWAY:All-cause physician visit rate ratios (RRs) for patients with MS were consistently elevated from 14 years before MS onset (adjusted RR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.3), peaking in the year before MS onset (adjusted RR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2-1.4).Mental health-related and psychiatry visits increased significantly from 14 years and 12 years before MS onset (RRs; 1.8 and 2.6, respectively), with both remaining elevated in most subsequent years.In contrast, neurology visits were significantly elevated for up to 8 years before MS onset (RR, 1.6) and nervous system conditions were elevated from only 4 years before (RR, 1.4), both peaking in the year before onset.Healthcare visits for ill-defined symptoms and signs consistently exceeded 1.15 from 15 years before MS onset, peaking in the year before (RR, 1.4).IN PRACTICE:<\/p>\n
\u201cMS can be difficult to recognize as many of the earliest signs \u2014 like fatigue, headache, pain, and mental health concerns \u2014 can be quite general and easily mistaken for other conditions,\u201d study investigator Helen Tremlett, The University of British Columbia and Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOur findings dramatically shift the timeline for when these early warning signs are thought to begin. By identifying these earlier red flags, we may eventually be able to intervene sooner \u2014 whether that\u2019s through monitoring, support, or preventive strategies,\u201d Tremlett added.<\/p>\n SOURCE:<\/p>\n