Hormone therapy and disease activity in Danish women with multiple sclerosis: A population-based cohort study

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Background and purpose: Sex differences in multiple sclerosis (MS) prevalence and disease course are thought to be driven by hormones. Exogenous exposure to estrogens may affect MS disease course. Thus, our aim was to investigate the association between hormone therapy (HT) and disease activity and disability accrual among women with MS. Methods: A register-based cohort study was conducted with prospectively enrolled cases from the Danish MS registry. Information on hormone exposure was retrieved from the National Prescription Registry. Outcomes were relapse rate, relapse rate ratio, recurrent relapses, 6-month confirmed and sustained Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) milestones 4 and 6, and recurrent EDSS worsening. Results: In all, 3325 women were eligible for analyses, of whom 333 (10%) were ever on HT at some time during follow-up. We found no association between HT and disability accrual, although a trend for increasing risk with increasing length of use was seen. The risk of reaching 6-month confirmed and sustained EDSS 4 among users was 0.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.3–1.2) after <1 year of use and 1.4 (95% CI = 0.9–2.2) after >5 years of HT compared to never use. The risk of recurrent relapse was increased by 20% (95% CI = 1.0–1.4) among current users of HT compared to nonusers. However, the risk of recurrent relapses was driven by the first calendar period (1996–2005) before the introduction of high-efficacy disease-modifying therapy. Conclusions: Our findings from this nationwide MS population suggest that HT does not affect disability accrual in women with MS, especially if used for <5 years.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftEuropean Journal of Neurology
Vol/bind29
Udgave nummer6
Sider (fra-til)1753-1762
Antal sider10
ISSN1351-5101
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2022

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
We thank all Danish neurologist contributing to the data collection in the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry and the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society for funding the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.

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