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Original Article

Assessment of health-related quality of life in

patients with multiple sclerosis living in the Fars

province of Iran

Nahid Ashjazadeh , Habib Hadianfard , Soodabe Feridoni , Elham Farjam 2
2,3
2
1
1 Department of Neurology, Shiraz Neuroscience Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7194815644, Iran.
2 Department of Clinical Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7194815644, Iran.
3 Department of Neurology, Clinical Neurology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7194815644, Iran.
A B S T R AC T

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in
the Fars province of Iran. Methods: A total of 100 patients with clinically definite MS who were referred to a clinic affiliated with Shiraz
University of Medical Sciences were eligible to participate in this study. The HRQoL was evaluated using a Persian version of the Medical
Outcomes software. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, MANOVA, ANOVA and an independent t-test. Results: Patient
variables in this sample included the following: 80% of the participants were female, 68% of the participants were married, 30% of the
participants had completed primary school, 38% of the participants had completed high school and 32% of the participants attained a
university degree. No significant difference among HRQoL scores attributable to these variables were observed among participants in this
study. The overall mean scores for the physical and mental components of the HRQoL were 59.48 ± 24.63 and 49.26 ± 23.15, respectively.
The paired t-test showed that when compared with a normal sample, the patients in this study had mental component scores of the HRQoL
that were significantly lower than physical component scores (t = 5.72, df = 99, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The HRQoL scores among patients
with MS are significantly lower than those among members of the healthy population, especially with respect to the mental component of
the test. Therefore, close consideration of mental and physical problems and appropriate management of MS can improve quality of life
in these patients.
Key words: Health-related quality of life; multiple sclerosis; medical outcomes software

INTRODUCTION women twice that of men. [2]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease affecting MS is a chronic progressive disease without cure
the central nervous system that causes immune- that begins during early adulthood. Patients with MS
mediated damage to the myelin sheath, which results live with this disease for a long period of time, and
in physical and cognitive impairments. Multiple it negatively influences their social, economic and
sclerosis is a complex disease with different signs and emotional well-being. Health-related quality of life
[2]
symptoms. These signs and symptoms depend on the (HRQoL) is a multidimensional concept that includes
extent and location of the nerve damage. The disease physical, social, and emotional aspects of life and
pattern is mixed and punctuated by periodic attacks is an essential indicator to evaluate the impact of
with partial recovery exhibited between the attacks. [1] therapeutic plans on the lives of patients with MS.
[3]
The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation Earlier research has also documented the impact of
Report suggests that the number of patients with MS gender differences and education level on HRQoL
has increased from 30 to 33 per 100,000 between 2008 [4,5]
and 2013 with the prevalence of the disease among scores. This previous research has suggested that
there is a significant positive correlation between
Corresponding Author: Dr. Habib Hadianfard, Department of
Clinical Psychology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
7194815644, Fars, Iran. E-mail: hadianfardh@gmail.com Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows
others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the
author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
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www.nnjournal.net Cite this article as: Ashjazadeh N, Hadianfard H, Feridoni S, Farjam E.
Assessment of health-related quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis
living in the Fars province of Iran. Neuroimmunol Neuroinflammation
2016;3:57-62.
DOI: 10.20517/2347-8659.2015.40
Received: 29-09-2015; Accepted: 18-12-2015

© 2016 Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation | Published by Published by OAE Publishing Inc. 57