Demographic and clinical characteristics of non-familial healthy control subjects and the healthy relatives of patients with multiple sclerosis
| Non-Familial HCs (n = 82) | Healthy Relatives of Patients with MS (n = 68) | P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y, mean (SD) median | 39.8 (14.3) 43 | 39.5 (16.6) 43 | .917 |
| Sex, female n (%) | 57 (69.5) | 45 (66.2) | .663 |
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) | .180 | ||
| White | 64 (78.1) | 62 (91.2) | |
| Black | 12 (14.6) | 4 (5.9) | |
| Other | 6 (7.3) | 2 (2.9) | |
| Vascular risk factors, n (%) | |||
| Heart disease | 8 (9.8) | 13 (19.1) | .085 |
| Smoking | 22 (27.5) | 19 (27.9) | .979 |
| Hypertension | 17 (20.7) | 15 (22.1) | .442 |
| Obesity n (%)a | .582 | ||
| BMI <18.5 | 2 (2.4) | 2 (2.9) | |
| BMI 18.5–24.9 | 34 (41.5) | 25 (36.8) | |
| BMI 25–29.9 | 26 (31.7) | 17 (25.0) | |
| BMI >30 | 13 (15.8) | 18 (26.5) | |
| Autoimmune diseases, n (%) | |||
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | 0 | 0 | NA |
| Rheumatoid disorder | 1 (1.2) | 2 (2.9) | .474 |
| Psoriasis | 0 | 1 (1.5) | .279 |
| Diabetes mellitus type 1 | 1 (1.2) | 0 | .352 |
| Migraine, n (%) | 10 (12.2) | 13 (19.1) | .282 |
Note:—BMI indicates body mass index.
BMI <18.5 represents underweight, BMI 18.5–24.9 represents normal weight, BMI 25–29.9 represents overweight, and BMI >30 represents obesity. The differences between the groups were compared by means of the Student t test or the χ2 test.
↵a Data missing for 13 subjects.