Health-related quality of life among African Americans with multiple sclerosis

Identify factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among African Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS).

A survey cohort was recruited from the Registry of the North American Research Committee On Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Project. Data were collected from 131 African Americans with MS, with 111 participants providing all data needed for analyses of physical domains and 103 participants providing all data needed for analyses of mental health domains of HRQOL using multiple linear regression models.

Worsening MS symptoms and greater interference of MS symptoms with daily life were associated with significantly lower physical domains of HRQOL. Respondents reporting that their principal care physician who had a greater understanding of how MS symptoms affected their daily lives tended to have significantly higher physical dimensions of HRQOL. A previous diagnosis of depression and agreement that participants were sometimes embarrassed in public due to their MS were associated with significantly lower mental health aspects of HRQOL.

Findings highlight the importance of the positive association between the level of understanding by the principal care physician of how MS symptoms affect the lives of African Americans and their physical dimensions of HRQOL. Physicians treating African Americans with MS need to understand how MS symptoms impact the life of these patients as a key component to providing culturally competent care.