The relationship between depression, anxiety and cognition and its paradoxical impact on falls in multiple sclerosis patients

Publication date: Available online 27 July 2018Source: Multiple Sclerosis and Related DisordersAuthor(s): Alon Kalron, Roy Aloni, Gilles AllaliAbstractAlthough falls, cognitive impairments and mood disorders are very common in people with MS (PwMS) the relationship between these conditions has received scant attention. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the specific involvement of depression and anxiety on cognition and falls in PwMS. The study included 122 PwMS (75 women) divided into four subgroups according to their manifestation of depression and anxiety assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (i.e. no depression/no anxiety, depression/no anxiety, no depression/anxiety and depression/anxiety). Cognitive performance was evaluated via a computerized cognitive battery of tests. Participants were defined as "fallers" and "non-fallers" based on their fall history recorded during a clinical interview. Thirty-eight PwMS (31.1%) were classified as depressed (mean HADS 11.1, SD=3.4); 52 (42.6%) were classified as anxious (mean HADS 11.1, S.D=3.1) and 56 (45.9%) were neither depressed nor anxious. PwMS categorized in the anxiety/non-depressed subgroup were 6 times less likely to fall than PwMS without depression or anxiety (OR=0.160, 95%CI=0.040-0.646; P-value=0.010). In terms of global cognitive status, depressed PwMS with anxiety were almost 4 times more likely to experience cognitive impairments compared to PwMS who were not depressed or ...
Source: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders - Category: Neurology Source Type: research