1303 – Depression, anxiety and multiple sclerosis-serbian experience

Abstract

It is well known that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have frequently affective and anxiety spectrum disorders.The aim of our study was to assesss the links between anxious and depressive symptoms on one hand and the quality of life (QOL) and daily activities and abilities on the other, in patients diagnosed with MS. We measured the intensity of depression using HAMD-17 item., and the intensity of anxiety using HAM-A scale. We also measured the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score for each patient. Our batch was composed of 98 patients diagnosed with different forms of multiple sclerosis. The patients with relapsing remitting MS were free of acute neurological deficits during the examination. For every patient we performed neurological examination (EDSS) and the assessment of depression, of anxiety, of daily activities (activities of daily living-ADL and instrumental activities of daily living-IADL) and of the quality of life-score and grade (QOL score and QOL grade). First we found strong correlations between neurological deficit (measured by EDSS) and HAM-A, HAM-D, ADL, IADL,QOL score and QOL grade (using Pearson method: p= 0.0001 for each. For different levels of EDSS score we tried to correlate HAM-A and HAm-D with ADL, IADL, QOL (score and grade). The correlations were all valid with a stronger connection in the groups with a higher EDSS score. Anxiety and depression levels grow together with the EDSS score. Anxiety and depression spectrums are interrelated by increasing each other;s level regardless of MS severity.