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Published on: December 9, 2015
Estimating the prevalence of cognition and mental health among multiple sclerosis patients: A population-based
Hamad Al Khader1, Basel Emran1, Mariam Al Sulaimi1
1Faculty of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, Kuwait University, P.O Box 24924, Safat 13110, Kuwait.
Background:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease, considered most common autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system with dramatic impact on patient's emotional/mental well-being. Cognitive decline is acknowledged as debilitating symptom of MS. This paper aims to estimate the prevalence of cognition and mental health impairment among MS patients in Kuwait and test their association with socio-economic factors.
Methods:
Data were collected from 224 MS patients. As scales of MS quality of life inventory (MSQOLI), mental health inventory (MHI) and perceived deficit questionnaire (PDQ) were used to estimate scores for mental health and cognition, respectively. Tertiles were used to estimate prevalence and associations were tested accordingly.
Results:
The prevalence of cognition and mental health impairment were approximately 23.3% and 14.1%, respectively. When stratified by gender, significant difference exists in mental health impairment. When stratified by nationality, there is significant difference between Kuwaiti and Non-Kuwaiti Arabs in cognition. Poorest patients had median cognition score worse than all other income categories.
Conclusion:
MS in Kuwait seems to have an earlier age at onset. There is significant gender difference in mental health impairment among patients. Future interventions should be directed toward women, low-income, and non-Kuwaiti-Arabs. The estimated prevalence is based on self-reported data, tertiles as cut-off points, and hence should be interpreted with caution. PDQ and MHI are MSQOLI scales used as screening tools that don't correlate well with an objective test and shouldn't replace objective measures of physical and cognitive function tests including expanded disability status scale or magnetic resonance imaging.
