Overview

• The conference report analyzed 864 patients from a larger 4,191-person cohort, comparing 298 premenopausal women, 300 postmenopausal women, and 265 age-matched men.
• Initial symptoms involved the optic nerve more often in premenopausal women at 21.8% than in postmenopausal women at 15% or men at 11.7%.
• Spinal cord onset was more common in postmenopausal women at 44% and in men at 48.3% compared with 27.5% in premenopausal women.
• Comorbidities were present in 15.1% of premenopausal women versus 41% of postmenopausal women and 36.6% of men, with cardiovascular disease affecting 24.7% of postmenopausal women and endocrine or metabolic disorders 10.3%.
• Deaths during follow-up were reported in 15 men and nine postmenopausal women, with none among premenopausal women, and the authors suggested life-stage–specific monitoring and treatment priorities.