Perceived Fatigue and its Effect on HRQoL in MS

A study evaluated the correlation between perceived fatigue and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), social support, and cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The study included 128 Argentinian patients with MS. The mean age was 40±10.49 years, 75 patients (58 percent) were female, and the mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) was 2.43±1.87. Patients were assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), EDSS, Beck’s Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), International Quality of Life questionnaire (MusiQoL), Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS, 7/24 Spatial Recall Test, Paced Auditory Serial Task (PASAT-3), and word list generation task.

Just over half of patients (n=66; 51.6%) had fatigue. Patients with versus without fatigue presented significant differences in EDSS and BDI II (P<0.001). Correlations were observed between fatigue and age, EDSS, and BDI II (P<0.05). In terms of HRQoL, MusiQoL significantly differed between fatigued versus non-fatigued patients (P<0.05). FSS independently predicted HRQoL (typified β=–0.612 and –0.287; P<0.05). Compared with non-fatigued patients, those with fatigue had fewer friends in their social support network (P=0.031) and poorer PASAT-3 performance, the latter of which was independently precited by FSS (β=-0.280; P=0.009).

“Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in MS and has a great impact on patients’ daily life. This study highlights the importance of studying fatigue and treating it properly, since otherwise, it contributes to the dysfunction of patients daily life with psychological and social consequences,” the study authors concluded.