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Depression and quality of life in multiple sclerosis
S Fruehwald1, H Loeffler-Stastka, R Eher
1Clinical Department of Social Psychiatry, Vienna University Medical School, Vienna, Austria. stefan.fruehwald@univie.ac.at
Objectives:
Health related quality of life (QoL) has gained increasing influence as a relevant evaluation criterion in multiple sclerosis. The high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity in MS is, however, hardly ever considered in studies concerning QoL.
Materials And Methods:
In 60 patients of a MS outpatient clinic, symptoms of anxiety (Zung Anxiety Scale) and depression (Zung Depression Scale), as well as the health-related quality of life were rated and set into relation to the EDSS and to the duration of illness, respectively.
Results:
There was a highly significant correlation between depression as well as anxiety and the self-assessed quality of life. Depression was the by far strongest predictor for reduced QoL.
Conclusion:
Clinical studies, which seek to register the increasingly important evaluation criterion of health-related quality of life in MS, should consider the prevalence of depressive disorders and the decisive effect of depression on the self-assessed quality of life of affected patients.