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Associations Between Symptoms, Community Integration, and Mental Health
Does MS type or level of progression define the patient?
The type of MS or level of progression does not tell the whole story regarding the impact of symptoms, according to a study assessing 8 symptoms, disease progression, community integration, and mental health in 180 adults with self-reported MS who responded to a mailed survey. Symptoms assessed were pain, fatigue, imbalance, numbness, weakness, shortness of breath, vision loss, and memory loss. Researchers found:
• Average number of symptoms reported was 5.07.
• Fatigue, weakness, and imbalance were most common and rated as most severe.
• Not all symptoms were associated with level of disease progression or with MS subtype.
• Symptoms related to mobility were more likely to be associated with study variables.
• The entire group of 8 symptoms accounted for significant variance in measures of community integration and mental health, and specific symptoms made different independent contributions to these measures.
Citation: Kratz AL, Ehde DM, Hanley MA, Jensen MP, Osborne TL, Kraft GH. A cross-sectional examination of the associations between symptoms, community integration, and mental health in multiple sclerosis. [Published online ahead of print October 31, 2015]. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2015.10.093.