Disease activity and emotional state in multiple sclerosis

The prevalence and nature of emotional disturbance in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) was studied prospectively in 64 MS patients and 23 spinal cord–injured (SCI) control patients by administration of the 28‐item subscale General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). MS patients in remission had a mean GHQ score of 4.4, and patients with acute exacerbation or progressive nonremitting MS had a mean score of 15.7, a significant difference (p < 0.001). The prevalence of emotional disturbance was 90% in exacerbating or progressing patients, 39% in stable patients, and 12% in SCI control patients. The presence of emotional disturbance was not related to age, sex, or other demographic variables, to duration or severity of disease, or to the degree of disability. In the group of MS patients in remission, somatic complaints, anxiety, and social dysfunction were more prevalent than symptoms of depression.

[1]  P. Rabins,et al.  Emotional disturbance in multiple sclerosis patients: validity of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) , 1981, Psychological Medicine.

[2]  M. Folstein,et al.  Psychiatric screening on a neurological ward , 1980, Psychological Medicine.

[3]  M. Saunders,et al.  Psychiatric illness in a neurological out‐patient department in North East England: USE OF THE GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE IN THE PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF NEUROLOGICAL OUT‐PATIENTS , 1979, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[4]  D. Goldberg,et al.  A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire , 1979, Psychological Medicine.

[5]  M. Folstein,et al.  Psychiatric disturbances in neurological patients: Detection, recognition, and Hospital Course , 1978, Annals of neurology.

[6]  M. Folstein,et al.  Unsuspected emotional and cognitive disturbance in medical patients. , 1977, Annals of internal medicine.

[7]  D. Goldberg,et al.  Psychiatric morbidity in general practice and the community , 1977, Psychological Medicine.

[8]  D. Goldberg.  The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire : a technique for the identification and assessment of non-psychotic psychiatric illness , 1972 .

[9]  C. Cleeland,et al.  MMPI Profiles in Exacerbation and Remission of Multiple Sclerosis , 1970, Psychological reports.

[10]  D. Surridge.  An Investigation into some Psychiatric Aspects of Multiple Sclerosis , 1969, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[11]  K. Jambor.  Cognitive Functioning in Multiple Sclerosis , 1969, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[12]  J. Kurtzke,et al.  Further notes on disability evaluation in multiple sclerosis, with scale modifications , 1965, Neurology.

[13]  S. A. Wilson,et al.  Original Papers , 1926, The Journal of neurology and psychopathology.

[14]  I. S. Wechsler.  STATISTICS OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: INCLUDING A STUDY OF THE INFANTILE, CONGENITAL, FAMILIAL AND HEREDITARY FORMS AND THE MENTAL AND PSYCHIC SYMPTOMS , 1922 .

[15]  Sanger Brown,et al.  THE MENTAL SYMPTOMS OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS , 1922 .