Relationship between social cognition and fatigue, depressive symptoms, and anxiety in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Emerging research indicates that in addition to physical and cognitive deficits, individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) may also have impairments in social cognition, such as facial affect recognition and Theory of Mind (ToM). However, there is little research into how social cognition impairments relate to other domains in MS, such as mood and fatigue levels. The current study investigated whether social cognitive ability is associated with fatigue, depressive symptoms and anxiety in MS. Twenty-eight individuals with MS completed questionnaires assessing fatigue (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale), depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), as well as tasks of facial affect recognition and ToM (Reading the Mind in the Eyes; Strange Stories). Bivariate correlations were run to examine relationships between variables; partial correlations were subsequently used to ascertain whether these relationships persisted after controlling for cognitive ability (measured with the Symbol Digit Modalities Test). The results indicated that worse performance in both facial affect recognition and ToM were associated with higher rates of psychosocial fatigue, depressive symptoms, and anxiety levels; furthermore, these relationships were not explained by participants' cognitive ability. These preliminary results help us better understand the association between social cognitive abilities and other symptoms in MS, including depressive symptomatology, anxiety and fatigue.

Relapsing–remitting and secondary‐progressive multiple sclerosis patients differ in decoding others' emotions by their eyes

“…In line with what we would expect, actual findings demonstrated the existence of these differences, supported by neuroimaging data even for SC competencies. Previous studies investigated ToM dysfunctions in the different courses of MS, and none of them identified any specific phenotype‐related patterns [41]. The actual study confirms MS patients' impairment in recognizing others' mental states, and highlights peculiar differences between RRMS and SPMS patients.…”

Empathy and Theory of Mind in Multiple Sclerosis: A Meta-Analysis

“…Second, we only included cross-sectional studies, while more longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the dynamic changes in empathy and ToM function in patients of MS. Third, although we investigated some demographic and clinical variables (including age, sex, education level, disease duration, EDSS scores, severity of depression, and severity of anxiety) that may affect empathy and ToM function, other factors [such as prior substance abuse or some other behavioral symptoms (including apathy, inflexible, obsessive, sometimes with flattened affect, suspiciousness, etc.)] were not examined due to the limited data available in the original studies (67,113,114). Further studies are required to comprehensively elucidate the potential effects of these factors on empathy-and ToM-associated features in MS. Fifth, there was heterogeneity between the individual tasks for the assessment of ToM or empathy, and further development of standardized batteries for ToM/empathy assessment in MS is needed.…”

The Impact of Coconut Oil and Epigallocatechin Gallate on the Levels of IL-6, Anxiety and Disability in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

“…As a result of this link between the high levels of IL-6 and the perception of anxiety, we can see that anxiety disorders are found amongst the most common psychiatric disorders associated with MS [13]. In addition, anxiety symptoms have an effect on the course of the disease, increasing the levels of fatigue [14] and especially functional disability [15].…”