OBJECTIVES: We characterized patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who were receiving oral disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at enrollment compared with all MS patients in the North American Registry for Care and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (NARCRMS).

METHODS: This retrospective analysis of NARCRMS data (May 2016–July 2021) compared MS patients receiving daily oral DMTs at enrollment (dimethyl fumarate, fingolimod, teriflunomide) with the overall NARCRMS population. Patients aged 18–65 with MS onset dates within 15 years and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores ≤6.5 at enrollment were included. Descriptive statistics were used for patient demographics, treatment patterns, EDSS scores, and work productivity.

RESULTS: The overall MS and oral DMT cohorts included 889 and 151 patients, respectively; the majority were female (75% and 78%), were white (85% and 90%), and had mean age of ~34 (34.6 and 34.3) years at diagnosis, respectively. Patients with follow-up decreased over time in the overall and oral DMT cohorts: Year 1, 46.0% and 61.0%; Year 2, 11.1% and 21.2%; Year 3, 1.4% and 2.0%, respectively. Mean enrollment EDSS scores did not differ between the overall and oral DMT cohorts (1.9 and 1.7, respectively) but were significantly higher in the overall cohort at first and second follow-up: Year 1, 1.96 and 1.55 (P=0.016); Year 2, 1.82 and 1.28 (P=0.04). Employment rates did not differ significantly between the overall (73.2%) and oral DMT (70.8%) cohorts; both had a large proportion of patients receiving disability income at first follow-up (overall, 87.6%; oral DMT, 90.0%), and 35.3% of overall patients and 45% of oral DMT patients who had worked the week prior reported that MS affected work output.

CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that real-world patients on oral DMTs are similar to MS patients overall. As MS registries are growing, capturing high-quality, long-term data is increasingly important as more treatment options become available.