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Publication of the Medical Rehabilitation is under the auspices of the Committee on Rehabilitation, Physical Education and Social Integration of the Polish Academy of Science
Article
Medical Rehabilitation - quarterly journal
Volume 11 year 2007, Issue number 2
Effect of depression on quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Waldemar Brola, Małgorzata Fudala, Jan Czernicki
Medical Rehabilitation 2007; 11(2): 9-13
Effect of depression on quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis
Wpływ depresji na jakość życia chorych ze stwardnieniem rozsianym
Waldemar Brola 1, Małgorzata Fudala 1, Jan Czernicki 2
1 Department of Neurology with Stroke Unit Specialist Hospital in Końskie, Poland
2 Department of Rehabilitation with Day Unit at the Medical University of Łódź, University Departmental Hospital No 5, Łódź, Poland
The paper was presented during the 12th Congress of Polish Rehabilitation Society, Kraków, Sept. 22-24, 2006
Received: 18.04.2007; accepted 25.06.2007
Key words
multiple sclerosis, depression, quality of life, disability
Abstract
Background and purpose: Depression is a common complication of multiple sclerosis. It can essentially affect the natural course of the disease, treatment and rehabilitation results and can significantly decrease the quality of life. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of depression on multiple sclerosis patients' quality of life using the Polish version of the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis questionnaire (FAMS).
Material and methods: Ninety-four patients aged 18-51 years, treated as inpatients at the Neurological Department, were examined. Depression was diagnosed using the DSM-IV criteria. Depression was assessed by means of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The influence of depression on the quality of life assessed with Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis questionnaire (FAMS) and its association with locomotor insufficiency were analyzed (EDSS-Kurtzky Scale). The Fischer exact test and the Mann-Whitney test were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Fifty-eight patients (62%) suffered from depression. Among them, 48 patients (51%) suffered mild depression and 10 patients (11%) had moderate or severe depression. A significantly better quality of life was noted in patients without depression in comparison to patients with mild and, especially, to those with moderate or severe depression (p < 0,005). A clear association between the degree of locomotor insufficiency, depression severity, and quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis was found.
Conclusions: High incidence of depression and its severity are associated with locomotor insufficiency. Depression significantly affects multiple sclerosis patients' quality of life. The Polish version of FAMS questionnaire is a reliable and sensitive tool assessing quality of life and should be widely used in clinical practice.
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