Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Persons with Multiple Sclerosis with Psychiatric Disorders

INTRODUCTION: Psychiatric syndromes (PS) are among the most common comorbidities seen in multiple sclerosis (MS). It has been demonstrated that
PS, such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, are more common in people with MS (pwMS) than in the general population. However, the reasons for this remain unknown. We aimed to identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of pwMS with PS and compare them with pwMS without PS.
METHODS: In total, 2,732 (1,886 female; 846 male) pwMS attending the outpatient MS Clinic of Dokuz Eylul University Hospital were included in the study. We recorded the age, gender, disease duration, duration of PS diagnosis, age of onset, and MS course of the pwMS.
RESULTS: PS had been diagnosed in 383 (14%) of pwMS, and in 352 of those it were diagnosed after their MS. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of disease duration and duration of diagnosis. There were significant differences regarding age, gender, age of onset, and MS classification between the two groups. The age and age of onset of PS in pwMS (45.89±11.50 and 30.42±9.81, respectively) were higher than in pwMS without a PS (44.09±12.57 and 29.29±9.74, respectively). The rate of female pwMS with a PS (76.4%) was higher than female pwMS without a PS (67.8%). Regarding the MS type, whereas 81% of those who had PS had relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 15.6% had secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and 3.4% had primary progressive MS (PPMS). Furthermore, 85.4% of those who had no PS were RRMS, 11% were SPMS, and 3.6% were PPMS.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In this study, the most related factors were age, gender, age of onset, and MS course for PS in MS. Studies involving other clinical
features and cognitive functions are needed to better understand PS in MS.