6.5.1 MS patients’ perceptions of illness and its development (183)
Anners Lerdal, Associate Professor, Dept. of Health, Dept. of Health, Buskerud University College, Norway, Drammen, Norway Co authors: Elisabeth Celius & Thorbjorn Moum Anners.Lerdal@hibu.no
Abstract:
Background:
Several studies of MS-patients quality of life have been undertaken, but little is known about how these patients perceive their own illness trajectory.
Aim:
To examine to what degree sociodemographic variables, clinical variables and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are related to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients’ perceptions of their current disease severity as well as changes in disease severity.
Method:
A questionnaire, measuring HRQoL (SF–36), and perceived MS severity were mailed twice, one year apart in the year 2000 and 2001 to patients with definite MS in Oslo (N = 502). Clinical data about the patients’ disease onset and course were retrieved from the Oslo City MS-registry.
Findings:
Among the 313 (62%) patients who responded with valid disease severity scores at both times, those with primary progressive (PP) disease course reported higher perceived MS severity (p < 0.001), more mental health problems (p = 0.004) and more physical impairment (p < 0.001) than patients with a relapsing remitting (RR)/secondary progressive (SP) disease course. Patients with PP MS reported higher mean scores of disease severity at follow-up. No change in mean severity was found among patients with a RR/SP disease course. Among the sub-domains of HRQoL, physical functioning clearly showed the strongest concurrent relationship to perceived MS severity. A regression analysis also showed that change in physical functioning was independently related to perceived change in MS severity.
Conclusion:
When MS patients judge the severity of their disease, their level – and/or recent change – in physical functioning seems to be the major determining factor.
Source of Funding: non UK
Amount in Funding: 50,001 - 100,000
Biography:
Education: 6/2005 Doctor philosophiae, Dept. of Behaviour Science in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo 4/1996 Candidate in Nursing Science, Institute of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo 12/1986 Nursing /RN/ College of Nursing. Drammen. Career: 6/2005 – present Associate Professor, Dept. of Health, Buskerud University College Lerdal, A. 2005, Energy, fatigue and perceived illness in individuals with multiple sclerosis: a multi-method approach, Doctoral dissertation, Dept. of Behavioural Science in Medicine, University of Oslo. Awards & funding 2006 The Buskerud University College’s Research Award 2006. 2006 The Research Council of Norway: Post Stroke Fatigue, research project: 176503/V10. Lerdal, A., Celius, E.G., Krupp, L., & Dahl, A.A. A prospective study of fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis. Eur. J. Neurol, In Press. Lerdal, A., Wahl, A., Rustøen, T., Hanestad, B. R., & Moum, T. 2005, "Fatigue in the general population: a translation and test of the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Fatigue Severity Scale". Scand.J.Public Health, vol. 33, s. 123-30. Lerdal, A., Celius, E. G., & Moum, T. 2003, "Fatigue and its association with sociodemographic variables among multiple sclerosis patients", Multiple Sclerosis, vol. 9, no. 5, s. 509-14.