Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with an increase in the incidence of multiple sclerosis: a retrospective cohort study of 24,934 patients

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study sample (after propensity score matching)

Variable	Proportion among Individuals with IBD (%) N = 24,934	Proportion among individuals without IBD (%) N = 24,934	p-value
Age (Mean, SD)	50.3 (18.5)	50.3 (18.5)	0.921
Age 18–30	19.3	19,1	0.967
Age 31–40	14.2	14.3
Age 41–50	17.4	17.3
Age 51–60	17.9	17.9
Age > 60	31.2	31.4
Women	55.6	55.6	0.907
Men	44.4	44.4	0.907
Number of physician visits per year during the follow-up (Mean, SD)	9.4 (8.6)	9.3 (8.7)	0.086
Diabetes	18.2	18.3	0.826
Obesity	9.1	8.9	0.348
Vitamin D deficiency	3.4	3.4	0.980
Autoimmune disorders^a	15.5	15.5	0.921

Proportions of patients given in %, unless otherwise indicated
SD standard deviation
^aAutoimmune disorders include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, autoimmune thyroiditis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, thrombophilia

ISSN: 2047-783X