The relationships between depression and life activities and well-being of multiple sclerosis patients

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most disabling neurodegenerative disorders. Depression is the most frequent psychiatric disorder accompanying MS. Although much attention is given to correlations between depression and MS clinical factors, analysis of correlations between depression and life activities (social, household, professional activities and family life) and the well-being of MS patients’ is insufficient. However, improvement of these functions could positively influence the outcomes of MS treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate relationships between depression, life activities of MS patients, and their proposals how to improve the well-being. Materials and methods. The study lasted three years with 270 adult MS patients involved in it. ICD-10 criteria were used to diagnose depression. Original questionnaire was used to measure life activities and the well-being of the patients. Results. Prevalence of depression was 20.7% with no difference regarding the gender. Almost 84% of depressed respondents indicated, that MS disturbs their family life, 71.4% recommended to assign more attention to MS in general and 64.3% — to include more medications into reimbursement list. Conclusions. MS patients diagnosed with depression significantly more often than non-depressed indicate that MS disturbs their family life; recommend to assign more attention to MS in general and to include more medications into reimbursement list.</jats:p>

The incidence and prevalence of psychiatric disorders in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review

“…Two studies reported the incidence of depression (Supplemental Table 7), 45,52 while 71 reported the prevalence (Supplemental Tables 8 and 9). 3,10–38,41–59,63–67,70–80,93…”

Beyond pain in multiple sclerosis

“…The current study demonstrated that depression was prevalent in 18.8 percent of study participants and that it was in line with previous studies. [30][31][32][33][34] Pain was presented in 84.2 percent of depressed patients and it was significantly higher compared with not depressed (54.9 percent) participants of the study (p < 0.01). The mean value of depression (HADS-D score) in patients' group with pain was significantly higher compared with pain free patients (respectively, 9.8 AE 5.2 vs. 6.1 AE 4.5, p < 0.01).…”