Table 1 Sample characteristics
|  | Women (n = 196) | Men (n = 61) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
Age, years Mean (SD) | 48.2 (11) | 44.8 (10) | 0.033 |
Civil status, n (%) | |||
 Married/cohabitant, n | 141(72) | 44 (72) | 0.959 |
 Living alone, n | 55 (28) | 17 (28) | |
Education, n (%) | |||
 Lower: Compulsory – Secondary school | 123 (63) | 45 (70) | 0.125 |
 Higher: After secondary school – University | 72 (37) | 16 (30) | |
 Missing data | 1 |  | |
Occupation | |||
 Working, full- or part-time, n (%) | 106 (54) | 47 (77) | 0.005 |
 Not working, n (%) | 89 (46) | 14 (23) | |
 Missing data | 1 | ||
Course of the disease, n (%) | |||
 Relapsing – remitting (RR) | 140 (71) | 47 (77) | 0.389 |
 Progressive (PP + SP) | 56 (29) | 14 (23) | |
Disease severity, n (%) | |||
 No neurological signs, EDSS = 0 | 20 (10) | 7 (11) | 0.560 |
 Mild, 1.0 ≤ EDSS ≤ 3.5 | 119 (61) | 38 (62) | |
 Moderate, 4.0 ≤ EDSS ≤ 5.5 | 21 (11) | 9 (15) | |
 Severe, 6.0 ≤ EDSS ≤ 6.5 | 36 (18) | 7 (11) | |
Medication | |||
 No pharmacological treatment, n (%) | 45 (23) | 9 (15) | 0.164 |
 Pharmacological treatment, n (%) | 150 (77) | 52 (85) | |
Immune-modulating treatment | |||
 Yes, n (%) | 103 (53) | 41 (67) | 0.828 |
 No, n (%) | 93 (47) | 20 (33) |  |