Contributing factors to health‐related quality of life in multiple sclerosis

• Published in: Brain and behavior Vol. 9; no. 12; pp. e01466 - n/a
• Main Authors: Biernacki, Tamás, Sandi, Dániel, Kincses, Zsigmond Tamás, Füvesi, Judit, Rózsa, Csilla, Mátyás, Klotild, Vécsei, László, Bencsik, Krisztina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-12-2019; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Adult; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction - etiology; cognitive impairment; depression; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - etiology; fatigue; Fatigue - diagnosis; Fatigue - etiology; Female; Humans; Male; Medical prognosis; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - physiopathology; Multiple Sclerosis - psychology; Original Research; Patients; Quality of Life; Quantitative psychology; sex differences; Sex Factors; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Womens health; fatigue; cognitive impairment; depression; quality of life; multiple sclerosis; sex differences
• ISSN: 2162-3279; 2162-3279
• DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1466

Background
Health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) is lower in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) compared to the healthy population, psychological symptoms accompanying multiple sclerosis (MS) have a serious impact on the HRQoL of PwMS. Data regarding the subject, however, remain conflicting.
Objectives
To evaluate the patients' sociodemographic attributes, education, fatigue, depression, and cognitive impairment level of impact on the HRQoL for the whole cohort as well as comparing the sexes.
Materials and Methods
Three hundred and twenty‐two relapse‐remitting MS patients filled out the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), MS Quality of Life‐54 (MSQoL‐54) questionnaires, cognitive impairment were identified using Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) test. The patients' data were acquired from our clinic's MS registry or from patients' files.
Results
Depression and fatigue were found to have the most ubiquitous and robust effect on the overall and any given subdivision of the HRQoL composite. Other factors had a slight effect on some of the subscales when the whole cohort was evaluated. When the genders were compared, differences were found on 10 domains.
Conclusion
Psychopathological symptoms have a more powerful influence on the HRQoL of MS patients than physical impairment, also these symptoms influence men's and women's HRQoL with different power. This invokes the need for complex and personalized care in the treatment of PwMS. Ours is the first study to show a difference between the sexes in this regard.
The determining factors of the health‐related quality of life of MS patients were assessed. Psychopathological, not physical symptoms were found to be the main influencers of one's health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). Also a difference between men and women was found regarding which factors determine a patient's HRQoL and the power of influence a given factor has on one's HRQoL.