Black Patients With MS Have Worse Physical, Walking Performance

Compromised walking and physical performance is more common among Black patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with White patients. These are the findings of a study published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.

The clinical course of MS is often worse among Black patients, such as worse central nervous system (CNS) injury and clinical endpoints reflecting disability. However, there is little data about the differences in walking and physical performance between Black and White patients.

In a cross-sectional study, researchers recruited participants via advertisements through the National MS Society and the University of Alabama at Birmingham i2b2 database. Patients with MS (n=208) and control individuals (n=95) underwent a timed 25-foot walk (T25FW), 6-minute walk (6MW), timed-up-and-go (TUG), and short physical performance battery (SPPB) evaluations.

The MS group comprised 141 White (mean age, 52.8; 72% women; comorbidity score, 2) and 67 Black (mean age, 44.7; 82% women; comorbidity score, 2) participants and the control group comprised 59 White (mean age, 49.6; 71% women; comorbidity score, 2) and 36 Black (mean age, 50.5; 83% women; comorbidity score, 2) participants. Significant group differences in gender, age, years of education, marital status, income, and disease duration were observed on the basis of race (all P £.04) and in employment and income on the basis of MS status (both P £.04).

Walking and physical performance were significantly affected by MS status (F, 15.7; P <.001) and race (F, 4.3; P =.002).

Stratified by outcome, T25FW (F, 34.637; P <.001), 6MW (F, 58.500; P<.001), TUG (F, 22.122; P <.001), and SPPB (F, 25.239; P <.001) depended on MS status. Only T25FW (F, 15.498; P <.001), 6MW (F, 11.619; P <.001), and TUG (F, 4.063; P <.05) depended on race. No significant MS status-by-race interactions were observed (all P ³.482).

In general, these trends indicated that individuals with MS had worse outcomes than control individuals, regardless of race, and Black individuals had worse outcomes than White individuals, regardless of MS status.

Participants in this study were recruited in the Southeast of the United States and trends may not be generalizable to other areas.

“Future studies should further examine the contribution of these SDOH [social determinants of health]-related factors for explaining the influence of Race and MS Status on walking and performance outcomes in Black and White persons with MS,” the researchers concluded.