Adaptation Is Favorable for Most Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Quality of Life in People with Multiple Sclerosis: Data from the Sonya Slifka Longitudinal Multiple Sclerosis Study

“…Our observation that a high proportion of participants reported good, very good, or excellent health is consistent with previous studies (Pittock et al, 2004;Patti et al, 2003). Janssens and Hintzen (2004) explained these seemingly contradictory results by "response shift", namely, that respondents with medical conditions and disabilities tend to adjust their expectations downward and, therefore, report less dissatisfaction.…”

“…First, a sample of people with MS drawn from the general population, rather from a clinical setting, might exhibit fewer depressive symptoms. Second, the same "response shift" or disability-related downward adjustment of expectations that produced a positive view of general health status (see above) could also result in a downward adjustment of expectations regarding the factors in the MCS, accomplishments, performance, socializing, and mood (Janssens and Hintzen, 2004). In summary, we agree with Nortvedt and colleagues (2000) that the SF 12 mental health summary scale underestimates the mental health status of people with MS.…”

“…Pittock et al (2004) studied patients with established MS in Olmsted County in Minnesota in 2000 (n=201) and found that mental health scores for people with MS, as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Short , were comparable to or even better than the general U.S. population and concluded that "quality of life is favorable for most patients with multiple sclerosis." Pittock's findings and conclusion produced a stir in the research community: several investigators argued that the reported mental health scores were suspect because of the high prevalence of depression in the MS population and that Pittock's conclusion was misleading (Mitchell, Benito-Leon, Rivera-Navarro and Morales-Gonzalez, 2004;Janssens and Hintzen, 2004). Investigators have similarly noted that people with MS often report good general health in spite of the high prevalence of physical disability (Pittock et al, 2004;Patti et al, 2003).…”