Abstract Details

Title Health Disparities in African American Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Retrospective Chart Review Study

Topic Health Care Disparities

Presentation(s) P17 - Poster Session 17 (11:45 AM-12:45 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 11-001

Objective To assess health disparities between AA and CA patients with MS treated at the UAB Comprehensive MS Center.

Background Multiple studies have shown that African American (AA) patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have worse disease outcomes than Caucasian American (CA) patients with a more aggressive disease course and higher rates of progression. However, the literature on this topic is sparse.

Design/Methods This study used a retrospective chart-review approach to collect data (e.g., demographic data, disease duration, age at diagnosis, and Expanded Disability Status Score (EDSS), etc.) from the electronic health record (EHR) of MS patients at our MS center. Descriptive analyses were conducted. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to determine the associations between EDSS and chance of requiring ambulatory assistance with race.

Results Out of the 500 patients with MS, 39.9% were AA and the rest were CA. 69.4% of AA patients were hospitalized for their first clinical attack in contrast to only 30.9% of CA patients being hospitalized. Vision loss at diagnosis was more commonly seen among AA patients than CA patients, 38.3% of AA vs 28.6% of CA. Both at their initial and most recent visits, AA patients were more likely to have a higher EDSS and were more likely to require ambulatory assistance. When controlling for gender, BMI, age at diagnosis, disease duration, MS type, and health insurance status, AA had a greater chance of having a higher initial EDSS (OR 2.026, p=0.006), current EDSS (OR 4.053, p<0.0001), and requiring ambulatory assistance (OR 2.793, p<0.0001).

Conclusions AA patients were at a higher risk of worse outcomes than CA patients at all points in their clinical course. Further study is needed to determine reasons for these disparities.

Authors/Disclosures
Elissa Dykes PRESENTER	Miss Dykes has nothing to disclose.
William R. Meador, MD	Dr. Meador has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an Expert Witness for ForensisGroup. The institution of Dr. Meador has received research support from PCORI. The institution of Dr. Meador has received research support from ROCHE/GENENTECH.
	No disclosure on file

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