Association between comorbidities and health-related quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease accompanied by physical and mental comorbidities. Little is known about the relation between different comorbidities and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people with MS (pwMS). Therefore, we designed this study to assess the association between comorbidities and HRQOL. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, of 976 pwMS attending the MS clinic of Kashani Hospital in Isfahan, Iran were assessed. The data on comorbidity were extracted from patients' medical records. The 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) was used to measure HRQOL. Firstly, the association between each comorbidity and HRQOL was assessed. Then, the comorbidities were categorized into physical, psychiatric, and autoimmune, and the association of each comorbidity group with HRQOL was evaluated. Results: The mean (SD) age and disease duration were 37.58 (9.22) and 7.41 (5.24); most of them were female (82.8) and had a relapsing course (77.1). The most common comorbidity was migraine (13.6), followed by hypothyroidism (13.5), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (13.5), and anemia (11.5). There was a significant association between the physical component score (PCS) of HRQOL and reduced epilepsy, coronary artery disease, eye diseases, OCD, major depressive disorder (MDD), and borderline personality disorder. Regarding mental component (MCS), ovarian failure, polycystic ovary syndrome, OCD, and MDD had an association with low MCS. After categorization, both physical and psychiatric comorbidities were related to less PCS and MCS score. However, no significant association between autoimmune comorbidities and HRQOL was found.