Gender differences in health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Women have about twice the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with men, a ratio that seems to be increasing. Most studies show that female patients seem to have a more favourable outcome of the disease. We studied the gender-specific impact of MS on health-related quality of life. We surveyed the population prevalence of MS patients in Ferrara, Italy. Data were extracted from the MS registry of the study area. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the MSQOL54 questionnaire. We analysed 370 patients (105 men and 265 women). They had worse scores than the general population in all health-related quality of life dimensions, ranging from 2.5 standard deviations (SD) lower for physical functioning to less than 0.5 standard deviations for mental health. Health-related quality of life scores were inversely correlated with disability scores. The impact of disability on health-related quality of life was higher for men than women regarding physical functioning (p < 0.01), vitality (p < 0.001), social functioning (p < 0.001), emotional wellbeing (p < 0.05) and mental health (p < 0.01). For scales reflecting mental health, a marked reduction with increasing disability was seen for men, while a linear reduction in the range of Expanded Disability Status Scale score 0-5 was reported for women, followed by no clear decrease for higher scores. We conclude that MS affects health-related quality of life in all of its dimensions. The impact of disability seems to be stronger among men, in particular for scales related to mental well-being. This could indicate that interventions should to be gender specific in order to better meet patients' needs.

Predictors of quality of life in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A 2-year longitudinal study

“…Several determinants of QoL have been identified with varying strengths of association; these factors include diseaserelated variables (disability status [3][4][5], disease duration [5,6], fatigue and depression [4,[7][8][9], cognition [5], disease-modifying drug therapy [10]), sociodemographic variables (age and sex [11][12][13], level of education, and marital status [5,14]). The majority of these findings are based on single cross-sectional research studies that cannot show direction of association and may not provide definite information about cause and effect relationships.…”

Change in the Health-Related Quality of Life of Multiple Sclerosis Patients over 5 Years

“…1 Several studies have been conducted regarding the HRQOL of MS patients using a cross-sectional study design. These studies have demonstrated a lower HRQOL among MS patients than in the general population [1][2][3][4][5] and in those with other chronic conditions. 1,6 Some studies examined the overall HRQOL of MS patients, while other studies separated physical from mental HRQOL.…”

Quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis and their caregivers

“…Este aspeto é corroborado pelos estudos de Casetta et al (2009), que referem que estas possuem maior capacidade de adaptação à doença: parecem ser mais resilientes, menos vulneráveis e lidam melhor com a incapacidade. Numa sociedade, onde a eficiência e a produtividade são muito valorizadas, a incapacidade física pode representar um fracasso, sendo um problema maior para os homens do que para as mulheres com EM (Casetta et al, 2009 Consideramos que a abordagem dos profissionais de saúde, nomeadamente dos enfermeiros, deve ter em conta estas diferenças no planeamento das suas intervenções, por forma a melhorar o atendimento e a QV destas pessoas. Nesta perspetiva, a consulta de enfermagem é, sem dúvida, um meio privilegiado de atuação para a melhorar a QV das pessoas com EM e da família/cuidadores.…”