Preferred Features of Oral Treatments and Predictors of Non-Adherence: Two Web-Based Choice Experiments in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Background: Oral disease modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) differ in efficacy, tolerability, and safety. Objective: We sought to understand how these attributes impact patient preference and predicted DMT non-adherence among oral-naive MS patients. Methods: Adult MS patients from the PatientsLikeMe Web-based health data-sharing platform completed a discrete choice exercise where they were asked to express their preference for one of three hypothetical oral DMTs, each with a certain combination of levels of tested attributes. Another Web-based exercise tested a number of possible drivers of non-adherence, mainly side effects. Data from an MS clinic were used to adjust for sample bias. Respondents' preferences were analyzed using Hierarchical Bayesian estimation. Results: A total of 319 patients completed all questions. Most respondents were female (77.7%, 248/319) with mean age 48 years (SD 10). Liver toxicity was the attribute that emerged as the most important driver of patient preference (25.8%, relative importance out of 100%), followed by severe side effects (15.3%), delay to disability progression (10.7%), and common side effects (10.4%). The most important drivers of predicted non-adherence were frequency of daily dosing (17.4% out of 100%), hair thinning (14.8%), use during pregnancy (14.1%), severe side effects (13.8%), and diarrhea (13.0%). Conclusions: Understanding the important concerns expressed by patients may help health care providers to understand and educate their patients more completely about these concerns. This knowledge may therefore improve both choices of appropriate therapy and adherence to therapy over time.