Abstract
Background and objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients tend to present peculiar personality traits that highly impact their quality of life. Our study aimed to determine which personality traits are more common in MS patients compared to a sex- and age-matched control group. Methods and materials: Patients with relapsing–remitting MS along with a sex- and age-matched control group were included. All subjects completed the DECAS Personality Inventory and an additional form including demographic characteristics. Data (including descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate analysis) were analyzed using SPSS. Results: 122 subjects were included, out of which 61 were in the patient group, mostly females (71.31%) with a mean age of 42.06 ± 10.46 years. Mean duration of disease was 10.18 ± 5.53 years and mean EDSS score was 2.09; 36% of patients were treated with Interferon-beta 1a. Subjects in the patient group presented significantly lower scores for extraversion (p = 0.036), specifically those with higher EDSS score, even after adjusting for possible confounders (age, sex, marital status, early retirement, alcohol, and tobacco consumption). Additionally, regarding orientation in life, MS patients were more often philosophers (p = 0.001), especially young males, whereas the dominant emotional feeling was less common, the actor profile (p = 0.022). Regarding task involvement, MS patients were often passive and compassionate concerning other people. Higher EDSS score also correlated with avoidant (p = 0.006) and melancholic (p = 0.043) personality traits. Subjects with higher education associated more often pragmatic, experimenter, popular, and optimist traits, whereas the elderly had actor, authoritarian, and experimenter profiles. Conclusions: Some MS patients may have reduced levels of extraversion and specific personality traits compared to age- and sex-matched subjects. Determining the exact personality profile might help the neurologist to establish a better therapeutic alliance and to apply specific interventions.
Highlights
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most frequent demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and affects young females more often [1]
It was noticed that MS patients tend to present peculiar personality traits, which can serve as conditioning factors for the commencement of a neuropsychiatric disorder, such as depression or anxiety [2]
Inclusion criteria for the patient group consisted of an established diagnosis of relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with an evolution exceeding one year and who signed the informed consent, with age ≥ 18 years, whereas in the control group were sex- and age-matched subjects without any neurological comorbidity
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most frequent demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and affects young females more often [1]. Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients tend to present peculiar personality traits that highly impact their quality of life. Our study aimed to determine which personality traits are more common in MS patients compared to a sex- and age-matched control group. Results: 122 subjects were included, out of which 61 were in the patient group, mostly females (71.31%) with a mean age of 42.06 ± 10.46 years. Subjects in the patient group presented significantly lower scores for extraversion (p = 0.036), those with higher EDSS score, even after adjusting for possible confounders (age, sex, marital status, early retirement, alcohol, and tobacco consumption). Conclusions: Some MS patients may have reduced levels of extraversion and specific personality traits compared to age- and sex-matched subjects. Determining the exact personality profile might help the neurologist to establish a better therapeutic alliance and to apply specific interventions
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