Older age, higher perceived disability and depressive symptoms predict the amount and severity of work-related difficulties in persons with multiple sclerosis.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that, among patients with multiple sclerosis, those who were older, with higher perceived disability and higher depression symptoms have more and more severe work-related difficulties. The Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties can be fruitfully exploited to plan tailored actions to limit the likelihood of near-future job loss in persons of working age with multiple sclerosis. Implications for rehabilitation Difficulties with work are common among people with multiple sclerosis and are usually addressed in terms of unemployment or job loss. The Multiple Sclerosis Questionnaire for Job Difficulties is a disease-specific questionnaire developed to address the amount and severity of work-related difficulties. We found that work-related difficulties were associated to older age, higher perceived disability and depressive symptoms. Mental health issues and perceived disability should be consistently included in future research targeting work-related difficulties.
PMID: 29658343 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Disability and Rehabilitation - April 16, 2018 Category: Rehabilitation Authors: Alberto R, Giovannetti AM, Schiavolin S, Brambilla L, Brenna G, Confalonieri PA, Cortese F, Frangiamore R, Leonardi M, Mantegazza RE, Moscatelli M, Ponzio M, Torri Clerici V, Zaratin P, De Torres L Tags: Disabil Rehabil Source Type: research