Before the onset of multiple sclerosis, patients are twice as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.
- People suffering from multiple sclerosis had a 28% chance of experiencing depression and anxiety before the onset of the disease.
- Health care use for psychiatric symptoms, including doctor and psychiatrist visits, prescriptions and hospitalizations, was also higher among the ill.
- The gap notably widened during each of the five years preceding the appearance of the autoimmune pathology.
In France, around 110,000 people are affected by multiple sclerosis and 4,000 to 6,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to health insurance. This autoimmune disease, which affects the central nervous system, represents the leading cause of severe non-traumatic disability in young adults. “Psychiatric morbidity is common after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. However, little is known about the number of people presenting with mental disorders during the prodromal phase, i.e. before the appearance of the pathology,” indicated researchers from the University of British Columbia (Canada).
Depression and anxiety, early indicators of multiple sclerosis
This is why they carried out a study published in the journal Neurology. For the purposes of the work, the team reviewed the medical records of 6,863 people suffering from multiple sclerosis. She was interested in the prevalence of mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, during the five years preceding the onset of the classic, medically recognized symptoms of the pathology. Data from these patients were compared to those from 31,865 healthy adults. According to the results, volunteers affected by multiple sclerosis suffered from mental disorders, specifically depression and anxiety, at rates almost twice that of the general population, i.e. 28% and 14.9%. respectively.
Multiple sclerosis: more health care for psychiatric symptoms
Health care utilization for psychiatric symptoms was also consistently higher among the ill. In details, “Doctor visits were 78% higher in the fifth year before MS onset and 124% one year before. Psychiatrist appointments were 132% higher in the fifth year and 146% in the first year . Hospitalizations were 129% higher in the fifth year and 197% in the first year. Prescription dispensations were 72% higher in the fifth year and 100% in the first year.”
The authors recalled that better characterizing the early stages of multiple sclerosis allowed earlier detection. “If we can recognize multiple sclerosis earlier, treatment could begin sooner. The potential to slow disease progression and improve patients’ quality of life is enormous,” concluded research author Dr Helen Tremlett in a statement.
