The clinical burden of Friedreich ataxia in the United States: A retrospective claims database analysis.

BACKGROUND

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a terminal, rare, autosomal recessive genetic disorder associated with debilitating comorbidities. However, limited real-world data on clinical outcomes associated with FRDA have been presented.

METHODS

The Komodo Research Data (01/2016-03/2023) was used to identify patients with FRDA who had ≥2 independent non-diagnostic early-onset cerebellar ataxia codes, 1 non-diagnostic FRDA specific code, and ≥12 months of continuous enrollment before and after the index date (defined as a random date with FRDA diagnosis). Individuals without early-onset cerebellar ataxia were eligible for controls. The controls were matched at a 5:1 ratio on age, sex, insurance type, US region, and continuous enrollment and assigned the same index date as the matched patients.

RESULTS

After matching, the study included 652 patients with FRDA and 3260 matched controls (mean age 33.2 years; 51.4 % females). During the follow-up period (median 26.2 months for cases and 28.3 months for controls), the incremental clinical burden in FRDA cases vs. matched controls was high: patients with FRDA had significantly higher odds of loss of ambulation (odds ratio: 158.0 [95 % confidence interval (CI): 112.4-222.3]), cardiomyopathy (59.2 [41.6-84.1]), scoliosis (49.0 [35.4-67.9]), falls (7.4 [5.9-9.2]), diabetes (2.5 [2.0-3.2]), head injury (2.4 [1.9-3.0]), and fracture (3.3 [2.6-4.2]) compared to controls (all p < 0.001). Patients with FRDA also experienced a higher risk of mortality than controls (hazard ratio: 3.9 [95 % CI: 2.4-6.4]).

CONCLUSIONS

Real-world data suggested patients with FRDA were associated with substantial and incremental clinical burden compared to matched controls and will benefit in advances in treatment for FRDA.