Do cognitive dysfunction and fatigue impact illness perception in people living with multiple sclerosis?

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Psychology

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, unpredictable neurological disease affecting physical, psychological, and social well-being.
• Illness perception, a patient's view of their disease, influences well-being and treatment adherence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess illness perception in people with MS (pwMS).
• To determine the impact of cognitive dysfunction and fatigue on MS illness perception.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional pilot survey involving 30 RRMS patients.
• Utilized Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), MoCA-BR, MFIS-BR, and MSQOL-54.
• Collected demographic, clinical data, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores.

Main Results:

• No significant correlation found between cognitive performance and illness perception (p=0.761).
• Significant correlations observed between illness perception and fatigue domains (p<0.001), EDSS (p=0.034), and MSQOL-54 scores (p<0.001).
• 40% of patients perceived MS as a significant threat.

Conclusions:

• Illness perception in MS is significantly influenced by fatigue, quality of life, and disability.
• Cognitive function does not appear to be a significant factor in MS illness perception.