The association between deprivation and the access to disease modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis: An England wide community-based study in the UK MS Register

University education facilitates uptake of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis: A community-based study using the UK MS Register

BACKGROUND

Higher education is associated with better job opportunities and higher income.

OBJECTIVES

Herein, the impact of education on the uptake of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) in a publicly funded health care system was examined using the UK MS Register.

METHODS

All adult participants with relapsing remitting MS diagnosed between 2008 and 2021 were included. Those without data regarding their education levels were excluded. Binary, multinomial and Cox regression models were used to examine the association between education levels and uptake of DMTs.

RESULTS

A total of 6317 participants fulfilled all inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 1826/2923 (62%) participants with a university education were treated with DMTs, compared to 1788/3394 (53%) participants with school/diploma received DMTs with an odds ratio of 1.318 (1.178-1.473). Participants with a university education were more likely to be treated with both moderate- and high-efficacy DMTs, compared to others, with odds ratios of 1.227 (1.087-1.385) and 1.545 (1.325-1.802), respectively. University education was also a positive predictor for faster initiation of DMTs, and, importantly, higher-efficacy DMTs.

CONCLUSION

In a publicly funded health care system, despite intended equality of access, university education was associated with a higher uptake of DMTs.

social determinants of health in multiple sclerosis

Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. Evidence indicates that health behaviours, comorbidities and disease-modifying therapies all contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) outcomes; however, our knowledge of the effects of social determinants — that is, the ‘risks of risks’ — on health has not yet changed our approach to MS. Assessing and addressing social determinants of health could fundamentally improve health and health care in MS; this approach has already been successful in improving outcomes in other chronic diseases. In this narrative Review, we identify and discuss the body of evidence supporting an effect of many social determinants of health, including racial background, employment and social support, on MS outcomes. It must be noted that many of the published studies were subject to bias, and screening tools and/or practical interventions that address these social determinants are, for the most part, lacking. The existing work does not fully explore the potential bidirectional and complex relationships between social determinants of health and MS, and the interpretation of findings is complicated by the interactions and intersections among many of the identified determinants. On the basis of the reviewed literature, we consider that, if effective interventions targeting social determinants of health were available, they could have substantial effects on MS outcomes. Therefore, funding for and focused design of studies to evaluate and address social determinants of health are urgently needed.

Here, the authors discuss the potential effects of social determinants of health on multiple sclerosis risk and outcomes. They suggest that addressing these determinants of health could substantially improve the lives of individuals with multiple sclerosis and call for more research.

Addressing an individual’s social determinants of health — that is, the conditions under which they are born, grow, live, work and age — could provide opportunities to reduce the burden of living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Individual factors that may influence MS-related outcomes include sex, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, education and employment, socioeconomic status, and domestic abuse.

Societal infrastructures, including access to food, health care and social support, can also affect MS-related outcomes.

Awareness of the specific circumstances of a patient with MS might help neurologists deliver better care.

Social determinants of health are not static and can change according to wider sociopolitical contexts, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rigorous studies of interventions to ameliorate the effects of poor social determinants on people with MS are urgently needed.