Fatigue significant factor for UK patients with MS

SEATTLE — Fatigue is a frequent concern for patients with MS in the United Kingdom and has multiple predictors, according to a presenter at the 2022 American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.

“The predictors of fatigue that we found were depression, disability level, MS duration and secondary MS,” Harriet MooreBSc, a researcher at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation, said during the meeting.

Moore and colleagues sought to estimate the prevalence, predictors and impact of fatigue on patients with MS by analyzing data from patients in the U.K. MS Register. Of 20,946 eligible patients in the database, 775 participants (mean age, 54.71 years; mean duration of MS diagnosis, 13.21 years) completed the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), WebEDSS and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaires within 28 days and were selected for inclusion. Participants with an FSS score greater than or equal to 5 were considered fatigued.

Results showed that 427 patients (55.1%) met the clinical definition of fatigue, and FSS scores showed a significant negative impact on psychological (P < .001) and physical (P < .001) aspects of mobility (P = .03) and quality of life (P = .005).

Data also revealed that depression (P < .001), duration of MS (P = .017), secondary progressive MS (P =.001) and WebEDSS (P <. 001) predicted fatigue, but that gender, age and comorbidities were not significant predictors in the cohort.

“In terms of helping people with MS who experience fatigue, depression and disability level are two things we can offer support (for),” Moore said.