Methodology of an International Study of People with Multiple Sclerosis Recruited through Web 2.0 Platforms: Demographics, Lifestyle, and Disease Characteristics

Table 3

Characteristics of the study sample.

Characteristic	Number (%); (unless otherwise stated)
Gender
Male	413/2318 (17.8)
Female	1905/2318 (82.2)
Age in 2012 (years)
18–29	124/2443 (5.1)
30–39	621/2443 (25.4)
40–49	794/2443 (32.5)
50–59	656/2443 (26.9)
60–69	231/2443 (9.5)
>70	17/2443 (0.7)
Country of location
USA	827/2518 (32.9)
Australia	649/2518 (25.8)
UK	416/2518 (16.5)
NZ	216/2518 (8.6)
Canada	107/2518 (4.2)
Other*	303/2518 (12.2)
Country of birth
USA	790/2510 (31.5)
Australia	518/2510 (20.6)
UK	502/2510 (20.0)
NZ	174/2510 (6.9)
Canada	111/2510 (4.4)
Other^†	415/2510 (16.5)
Marital status
Married	1511/2475 (61.1)
Single	359/2475 (14.5)
Cohabitating/partnered	313/2475 (12.6)
Separated/divorced	262/2475 (10.6)
Widowed	30/2475 (1.2)
Family status
No children	767/2477 (31.0)
One or more biological children	1644/2466 (66.7)
One or more step children	239/2466 (9.7)
No. of children^∧, median (IQR)	2 (0–2)
Employment status
Employed full time	807/2508 (32.2)
Employed part time	526/2508 (21.0)
Stay at home parent/carer	191/2508 (7.6)
Student full time	57/2508 (2.3)
Unemployed^‡	203/2508 (8.1)
Retired due to age	79/2508 (3.1)
Retired due to medical reasons or disability	588/2508 (23.4)
Other	57/2508 (2.3)
Education status
No formal schooling	3/2504 (0.1)
Primary school	55/2504 (2.2)
Secondary school	570/2504 (22.8)
Vocational training	405/2504 (16.2)
Bachelor’s degree	897/2504 (35.8)
Postgraduate degree	574/2504 (22.9)

∗Includes 72 other countries.
^†Includes 52 other countries.
^∧Includes biological and step children.
^‡Collapsed from unemployed: seeking work/not seeking work.