There were 6 distinct clusters of patients that differed by symptom patterns, and by their socio-demographic attributes. Most notable were were no differences in age, sex, or disease duration between the least and most impaired classes, representing 14% and 4% of patients, respectively.  Most notable findings were no difference in age, sex, or disease duration between the least and most impaired classes of patients, and that patients in the most impaired class were more likely to be Black American, have a history of smoking, have a higher BMI, and of lower SES. The results also demonstrate that the relationships between age and onset age/disease duration and symptom patterns varies, with positive relationships between age and classification to clusters of increasing moderately severe impairment but not the most severe clusters.

We identified 6 distinct clusters of RRMS patients based on shared patterns in impairment that were not known a priori but were determined empirically. By identifying phenotypic clusters, we add novel resolution to the MS phenotype, which has the potential to advance clinical trials and epidemiologic research having identified patient subgroups in whom to separately assess outcomes and associations.