Neurofilament and Brain Atrophy and Their Association with Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study

Table 2

Associations between longitudinal SDMT and baseline measures of NfL, MRI volumes, and EDSS in multiple sclerosis patients.

	Main effect		Effect on decline BL-5 years		Effect on decline BL-10 years		Overall	Interactions	Model fit
BL variable	β (95% CI)		β (95% CI)		β (95% CI)				AIC
sNfL	-9.5 (-15.5, -3.4)	.002	-2.7 (-8.4, 3.1)	.368	-4.9 (-10.6, 0.9)	.100	<.001	.249	741
cNfL	-14.3 (-22.9, -5.7)	.001	0.8 (-7.0, 8.5)	.847	-1.2 (-9.1, 6.8)	.775	.005	.902	746
WBV	0.053 (0.006, 0.099)	.027	0.051 (0.018, 0.085)	.002	0.040 (0.004, 0.077)	.031	<.001	.005	738
GMV	0.086 (0.011, 0.162)	.025	0.074 (0.023, 0.126)	.005	0.071 (0.022, 0.119)	.005	<.001	.003	737
T1 LV	-5.1 (-7.5, -2.6)	<.001	-1.6 (-4.1, 0.8)	.186	-3.6 (-5.9, -1.4)	.002	<.001	.007	726
T2 LV	-3.1 (-5.0, -1.2)	.001	-1.1 (-2.9, 0.7)	.224	-2.5 (-4.1, -0.9)	.003	<.001	.011	733
EDSS	-2.3 (-5.4, 0.8)	.150	-4.4 (-6.7, -2.2)	<.001	-1.1 (-3.8, 1.6)	.436	<.001	<.001	735

Results of linear mixed regression model. sNfL and cNfL values were log-transformed, and T1 and T2 lesion volumes were square root transformed. Models incorporated fixed effects of the baseline variable, time as a factor (comparing 5 years vs. baseline and 10 years vs. baseline), and the interaction between the baseline variable and time, as well as random intercepts and random effects of time. Main effects are estimated effects on SDMT at baseline. Adjusted for sex, age at baseline, higher education (yes/no), and log disease duration. Results based on 97 observations of 38 patients. Corresponding unadjusted estimates provided in Supplementary Table S1. Abbreviation: SDMT: symbol digit modalities test; NfL: neurofilament light chain; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; EDSS: expanded disability status scale; BL: baseline; CI: confidence interval; AIC: Akaike information criterion; sNfL: serum NfL; cNfL: cerebrospinal NfL; WBV: whole brain volume; GMV: gray matter volume; LV: lesion volume.