The Effects of Demographic, Clinical, and Radiological Parameters of Multiple Sclerosis on Quality of Life and Fatigue

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis is a progressive disease involving the central nervous system, usually starting between 20 and 40 years of age and causing recurrent dysfunction. There may be differences in physical, social and psychological effects depending on the degree of the disease. Fatigue is a common symptom of MS, which can be seen in different disease degrees and affects quality of life. The relationship between clinical and radiological findings and fatigue and quality of life remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to evaluate the relationship between disease markers such as age, mood, physical disability, laboratory findings, and fatigue and quality of life.
METHODS: The study included 100 patients who met the 2010 McDonald’s criteria, had an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of <6.5 and had no episodes in the last month. Oligoclonal band (OCB), autoimmune thyroid antibody values and cranial and spinal magnetic resonance images of the patients were examined to evaluate the laboratory and radiological findings. Beck depression inventory and Fatigue Impact Scale were engaged for mood and fatigue assessment. The MS Functional Composite and 36-item short-form survey (SF-36) included to evaluate cognitive and physical impairment related to MS.
RESULTS: There was a low but significant correlation between fatigue and EDSS (p=0.041), 9 hole test (dominant hand) (p=0.005) and timed 25 walk (p=0.020) tests. There was no significant relationship between fatigue and SF-36 scores and thyroid auto-antibodies and OCB scores. In addition, there was a significant relationship between fatigue and cranial (p=0.049) and spinal (p=0.025) MR results.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study showed that an increase in lesion burden in MS patients also increased their fatigue. In addition, this positive correlation between lesion burden and fatigue was not observed between laboratory results such as OCB and autoimmune thyroid antibodies.