In multiple sclerosis anxiety, not depression, is related to gender

There is a high prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease 2.5 times more frequent in females. Contrary to the general population, in whom studies have demonstrated higher rates of depression and anxiety in females, little is known about the impact of gender on psychiatric sequelae in MS patients.

We conducted a retrospective study to try to clarify this uncertainty.

Demographic, illness-related and behavioral variables were obtained from a neuropsychiatric database of 896 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of MS. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were obtained with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Gender comparisons were undertaken and predictors of depression and anxiety sought with a linear regression analysis.

HADS data were available for 711 of 896 (79.35%) patients. Notable gender differences included a higher frequency of primary progressive MS in males (p = 0.002), higher HADS anxiety scores in females (p < 0.001), but no differences in HADS depression scores.

In MS, gender influences the frequency of anxiety only. This suggests that the etiological factors underpinning anxiety and depression in MS are not only different from one another, but also in the case of depression, different from those observed in general population samples.