Descriptive statistics for demographic and baseline characteristics of participants
| Immediate (n=15) | Delayed (n=15) | Total (n=30) | |
| Gender (n (%)) | |||
| Female | 14 (93%) | 13 (87%) | 27 (90%) |
| Male | 1 (7%) | 2 (13%) | 3 (10%) |
| Age (years) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 50.9 (8.08) | 47.6 (9.26) | 49.3 (8.70) |
| Range | 37–63 | 33–65 | 33–65 |
| Ethnicity | |||
| White English | 14 (93%) | 13 (87%) | 27 (90%) |
| White other British | 1 (7%) | 0 | 1 (3%) |
| Other white | 0 (0%) | 2 (13%) | 2 (7%) |
| Disease type (n (%)) | |||
| Benign | 0 (0%) | 1 (7%) | 1 (3%) |
| Relapsing-remitting | 12 (80%) | 9 (60%) | 21 (70%) |
| Secondary progressive | 3 (20%) | 2 (13%) | 5 (17%) |
| Primary progressive | 0 (0%) | 1 (7%) | 1 (3%) |
| Participant states ‘do not know’ | 0 (0%) | 2 (13%) | 2 (7%) |
| Years since diagnosis | |||
| <1 year | 1 (7%) | 2 (13%) | 3 (10%) |
| 1–5 years | 7 (47%) | 4 (27%) | 11 (37%) |
| 6–10 years | 3 (20%) | 4 (27%) | 7 (23%) |
| 11–15 years | 2 (13%) | 1 (7%) | 3 (10%) |
| >16 years | 2 (13%) | 4 (27%) | 6 (20%) |
|
Relapse in previous 6 months* (n (%)) *requiring corticosteroids or hospital admission | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Adapted Patient Determined Disease Steps (APDDS) score | |||
| 2 (noticeable symptoms, but mild) | 3 (20%) | 2 (13%) | 5 (17%) |
| 3 (limitations with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)) | 0 (0%) | 1 (7%) | 1 (3%) |
| 4 (interferes with walking, can walk 300–500 m) | 5 (33%) | 2 (13%) | 7 (23%) |
| 5 (can walk 100–200 m but often use a stick) | 6 (40%) | 10 (67%) | 16 (53%) |
| 6 (need a stick or single crutch)† | 1 (7%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (3%) |
| Education† (n (%)) | |||
| †Highest qualification achieved: | |||
| No qualifications | 2 (13%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (7%) |
| One or more GCSE (or equivalent) | 2 (13%) | 4 (27%) | 6 (20%) |
| One or more A level (or equivalent) | 1 (7%) | 2 (13%) | 3 (10%) |
| First degree (or equivalent) | 2 (13%) | 3 (20%) | 5 (17%) |
| Higher degree/professional qualification | 2 (13%) | 2 (13%) | 4 (13%) |
| Other | 6 (40%) | 4 (27%) | 10 (33%) |
| Employment status | |||
| In paid employment (>30 hours per week) | 6 (40%) | 3 (20%) | 9 (30%) |
| In paid employment (≤30 hours per week) | 4 (27%) | 5 (33%) | 9 (30%) |
| Self-employed | 0 (0%) | 1 (7%) | 1 (3%) |
| Not in paid employment (unemployed, in education, retired, looking after home) | 5 (33%) | 6 (40%) | 11 (37%) |
| Marital status (n (%)) | |||
| Married/cohabiting | 11 (73%) | 10 (67%) | 21 (70%) |
| Single | 1 (7%) | 3 (20%) | 4 (13%) |
| Separated/divorced | 2 (13%) | 1 (7%) | 3 (10%) |
| Widowed | 1 (7%) | 1 (7%) | 2 (7%) |
| Household composition (n (%)) | |||
| One child or more living in household | 2 (13%) | 5 (33%) | 7 (23%) |
| At screening (n (%)): | |||
| Does not do 30 mins or more of activity that increases breathing rate on any days in a typical week | 7 (47%) | 6 (40%) | 13 (43%) |
Percentages rounded to nearest integer, and thus, might not sum exactly to 100%.
†While an APDDS score of ≥6 was an exclusion criterion this person’s APDDS score at screening was <6.