R Bove1, B C Healy2, E Secor3, T Vaughan4, B Katic5, T Chitnis6, P Wicks7, P L De Jager8. 1. Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women׳s Hospital, Brookline, MA 02445, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: rbove@partners.org. 2. Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women׳s Hospital, Brookline, MA 02445, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital Biostatistics Center, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: bchealy@partners.org. 3. Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: secor.elizabeth@gmail.com. 4. PatientsLikeMe, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: tvaughan@patientslikeme.com. 5. PatientsLikeMe, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: bkatic@patientslikeme.com. 6. Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women׳s Hospital, Brookline, MA 02445, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: tchitnis@rics.bwh.harvard.edu. 7. PatientsLikeMe, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: pwicks@patientslikeme.com. 8. Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women׳s Hospital, Brookline, MA 02445, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: pdejager@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are postmenopausal, yet the impact of menopause on MS symptoms is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate patient-reported impact of menopause in a large online research platform, PatientsLikeMe (PLM). METHODS: A detailed reproductive history survey was deployed to PLM members, and responses were linked to PLM׳s prospectively collected patient-reported severity score (MS Rating Scale, MSRS). The MSRS has previously shown good correlation with physician-derived EDSS scores. RESULTS: Of the 513 respondents, 55% were postmenopausal; 54% of these reported induced menopause. Median age at natural menopause was 51. Surgical menopause occurred at an earlier age (p<0.001) and was associated with more hormone replacement therapy use (p=0.02) than natural menopause. Postmenopausal status, surgical menopause, and earlier age at menopause were all associated with worse MSRS scores (p≤0.01) in regressions adjusting for age, disease type and duration. CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal patients in this study reported worse MS disease severity. Further, this study highlights a utility for online research platforms, which allow for rapid generation of hypotheses that then require validation in clinical settings.
BACKGROUND: Many women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are postmenopausal, yet the impact of menopause on MS symptoms is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate patient-reported impact of menopause in a large online research platform, PatientsLikeMe (PLM). METHODS: A detailed reproductive history survey was deployed to PLM members, and responses were linked to PLM׳s prospectively collected patient-reported severity score (MS Rating Scale, MSRS). The MSRS has previously shown good correlation with physician-derived EDSS scores. RESULTS: Of the 513 respondents, 55% were postmenopausal; 54% of these reported induced menopause. Median age at natural menopause was 51. Surgical menopause occurred at an earlier age (p<0.001) and was associated with more hormone replacement therapy use (p=0.02) than natural menopause. Postmenopausal status, surgical menopause, and earlier age at menopause were all associated with worse MSRS scores (p≤0.01) in regressions adjusting for age, disease type and duration. CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal patients in this study reported worse MS disease severity. Further, this study highlights a utility for online research platforms, which allow for rapid generation of hypotheses that then require validation in clinical settings.
Authors: Riley Bove; Brian C Healy; Alexander Musallam; Bonnie I Glanz; Philip L De Jager; Tanuja Chitnis Journal: Mult Scler Date: 2015-10-07 Impact factor: 6.312
Authors: Riley Bove; Charles C White; Kathryn C Fitzgerald; Tanuja Chitnis; Lori Chibnik; Alberto Ascherio; Kassandra L Munger Journal: Neurology Date: 2016-09-07 Impact factor: 9.910