Major depression and quality of life in individuals with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Objective: To compare the Quality of Life (QOL) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with and without lifetime major depression.

Method: Data on 136 MS subjects sampled from the University of Calgary MS Clinic were collected. The WHO's Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to diagnose lifetime major depression. The MSQOL-54 was administered to evaluate QOL of the subjects.

Results: Thirty one (22.8 percent) of the 136 MS subjects had lifetime major depression, However, only 6 of these had a current episode at the time of data collection. MS patients with lifetime major depression had significantly lower MSQOL-54 scores in the QOL domains of Energy, Mental Health, Cognitive Function, General Quality of Life, Sexual Function, and Role Limitation-Emotional than the MS patients without lifetime major depression.

Conclusions: Lifetime major depression may have a substantial impact on the QOL of people with MS. Alternatively, MS patients with poor QOL may be at greater risk of major depression.