Internet Usage by Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Implications to Participatory Medicine and Personalized Healthcare

Table 1

Demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants.

		NIU	GIU	MSIU	𝑃-value
		Non Internet Users	General Internet Users	MS-Internet Users
𝑁 (%)		17 (18)	18 (19)	61 (63)
Age: Mean ±SD		47.7 ± 8.2	46.9 ± 8.8	40.9 ± 10.4	.01^a
Female/male (ratio)		16/1 (16.0)	11/7 (1.6)	41/20 (2.0)	.67
EDSS^b 𝑁 (%)	≤3	8 (47)	12 (67)	43 (70)	.47
	>3 & <5.5	7 (41)	4 (22)	12 (20)
	≥5.5	2 (12)	2 (11)	6 (10)
Disease Duration years ± SD^c		9.6 ± 5.3	9.6 ± 5.1	6.6 ± 5.1	.02^c
Education 𝑁 (%)^d	≤12 years	10 (59)	3 (17)	21 (38)	.04^d
	>12 years	7 (41)	15 (83)	34 (62)
I have a computer at home 𝑁 (%)^e		10 (71)	18 (100)	59 (98)	.002^e
Marital Status 𝑁 (%)	Married	14 (82)	13 (72)	45 (74)	.73
	Single	2 (12)	2 (11)	11(18)
	Divorced	1 (6)	3 (17)	5 (8)
Ethnic origin 𝑁 (%)	Jews	14 (82)	17 (94)	53 (87)	.50
	Arabs	3 (18)	1 (6)	8 (13)
Country of birth 𝑁 (%)	Israel	8 (47)	11 (61)	49 (80)
	Past USSR	3 (18)	4 (22)	4 (7)	.04
	Others	6 (35)	3 (17)	8 (13)

^a𝑃=.02 between NIU & MSIU, 𝑃=.02 between GIU & MSIU.
^bEDSS = Expanded Disability Status Scale.
^c𝑃=.04 between NIU & MSIU, 𝑃=.03 between GIU & MSIU.
^d𝑃=.01 between NIU & GIU.
^e𝑃=.004 between NIU & MSIU, 𝑃=.03 between NIU & GIU.