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

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.