Contributions
Abstract: EP1371
Type: Poster Sessions
Abstract Category: Clinical aspects of MS - MS symptoms
Introduction: In multiple sclerosis (MS), unemployment occurs even at levels of disability, which are not typically associated with overt physical impairment.
Objective: To assess the impact of MS in people with low levels of physical disability.
Methods: A multicenter, non-interventional, cross-sectional study in adult subjects with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) or primary progressive MS (PPMS) according to McDonald 2010 criteria was conducted. The 23-item Multiple Sclerosis Work Difficulties Questionnaire (MSWDQ-23), 29-item Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), 8-item Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI-8), and Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS) were used to assess working performance, health-related quality of life, perception of stigma and depressive mood, respectively.
Results: A total of 199 subjects were studied (mean age: 43.9 ± 10.5 years, 60.8% female, 86.4% with RRMS). Mean time from diagnosis was 9.6 ± 7.2 years, median EDSS score 2.0 (interquartile range: 1.0-3.5). Employment rate was 47.2% (n=94). Mean physical and psychological MSIS-29 impact sub-scores were 40.38 ± 17.1 and 20.24 ± 7.8, respectively. Forty patients (20.2%) had at least one SSCI-8 item on 4 or 5, suggesting presence of stigma “often” or “always”. Eighty-one patients (40.7%) were depressed, 25 (12.6%) had moderate-to-severe depression. Employed people showed less perception of stigma than unemployed (p=0.001). Patients with higher perception of stigma showed higher physical and psychological impact on health-related quality of life (rho=0.61 and 0.55, respectively; p< 0.001) and more difficulties at work (rho=0.60, p< 0.001). Presence of depressive symptoms was related to working status: pensioner or incapacitated patients had more symptoms of depression (p< 0.001). Moreover, severity of depressive symptoms correlated directly with MSWDQ-23 score, indicating work-related problems influence mood status (rho=0.64, p< 0.001).
Conclusion: Work-related problems, stigma and poor quality of life outcomes are common in people with low physical disability. Using MS-specific patient-reported questionnaires may be a useful complementary strategy to detect early symptoms in clinical practice.
Disclosure: This study was funded by the Medical Department of Roche Farma Spain. N.C is an employee of IQVIA Spain. N.M. and J.M. are employees of Roche Farma Spain. The rest of the authors declared no potential conflict of interest.
Abstract: EP1371
Type: Poster Sessions
Abstract Category: Clinical aspects of MS - MS symptoms
Introduction: In multiple sclerosis (MS), unemployment occurs even at levels of disability, which are not typically associated with overt physical impairment.
Objective: To assess the impact of MS in people with low levels of physical disability.
Methods: A multicenter, non-interventional, cross-sectional study in adult subjects with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) or primary progressive MS (PPMS) according to McDonald 2010 criteria was conducted. The 23-item Multiple Sclerosis Work Difficulties Questionnaire (MSWDQ-23), 29-item Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), 8-item Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI-8), and Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS) were used to assess working performance, health-related quality of life, perception of stigma and depressive mood, respectively.
Results: A total of 199 subjects were studied (mean age: 43.9 ± 10.5 years, 60.8% female, 86.4% with RRMS). Mean time from diagnosis was 9.6 ± 7.2 years, median EDSS score 2.0 (interquartile range: 1.0-3.5). Employment rate was 47.2% (n=94). Mean physical and psychological MSIS-29 impact sub-scores were 40.38 ± 17.1 and 20.24 ± 7.8, respectively. Forty patients (20.2%) had at least one SSCI-8 item on 4 or 5, suggesting presence of stigma “often” or “always”. Eighty-one patients (40.7%) were depressed, 25 (12.6%) had moderate-to-severe depression. Employed people showed less perception of stigma than unemployed (p=0.001). Patients with higher perception of stigma showed higher physical and psychological impact on health-related quality of life (rho=0.61 and 0.55, respectively; p< 0.001) and more difficulties at work (rho=0.60, p< 0.001). Presence of depressive symptoms was related to working status: pensioner or incapacitated patients had more symptoms of depression (p< 0.001). Moreover, severity of depressive symptoms correlated directly with MSWDQ-23 score, indicating work-related problems influence mood status (rho=0.64, p< 0.001).
Conclusion: Work-related problems, stigma and poor quality of life outcomes are common in people with low physical disability. Using MS-specific patient-reported questionnaires may be a useful complementary strategy to detect early symptoms in clinical practice.
Disclosure: This study was funded by the Medical Department of Roche Farma Spain. N.C is an employee of IQVIA Spain. N.M. and J.M. are employees of Roche Farma Spain. The rest of the authors declared no potential conflict of interest.