Prospective Examination of Anxiety and Depression Before and During Confirmed and Pseudoexacerbations in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Bibliographic Data

ID19306169
AuthorsMichelle Nicole Burns (0000-0002-4002-7836, Northwestern University), Ewa Nawacki, Juned Siddique (0000-0002-1501-4152), Daniel Pelletier (0000-0003-0741-5615), David C Mohr (0000-0002-5443-7596, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume75
Issue1
Pages76-82
Publication date2013-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychosomatic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3174 • E-ISSN: 1534-7796
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/psy.0b013e3182757b2b
PMID23197840
PMCIDPMC3538885
OpenAlexW2036184755
LanguageEN
References cited31

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine whether pseudoexacerbations and confirmed MS exacerbations are preceded by or concurrent with increased anxiety or depressive symptoms. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of 121 patients with MS who were observed for 48 weeks during a randomized controlled trial. Participants completed monthly self-reports on depressive and anxiety symptoms. Patient-reported exacerbations were assessed through a telephone-administered symptom checklist and neurologic examination. RESULTS: Both pseudoexacerbations and confirmed exacerbations were associated with concurrent somatic depressive (β = .16 and β = .33, respectively; p values < .05), affective depressive (β = .17 [p = .02] and β = .12 [p = .06]), and anxiety symptoms (β = .24 and β = .20, p values < .01), controlling for baseline symptoms. Preexisting somatic and affective depressive symptoms predicted amplified relationships between concurrent confirmed exacerbations and these symptoms (β = .19 and β = .20, respectively; p values < .01). A standard deviation increase in anxiety symptoms relative to baseline predicted subsequent onset of pseudoexacerbations (odds ratio = 1.54, p = .02), whereas increased somatic depressive symptoms predicted confirmed exacerbations (odds ratio = 1.59, p = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MS experiencing pseudoexacerbations or confirmed exacerbations should be assessed and monitored for depressive and anxiety symptoms, and confirmed exacerbations are particularly concerning in patients with a history of depression. The psychological or psychiatric antecedents of MS exacerbations generate new hypotheses on etiologies of confirmed exacerbations and pseudoexacerbations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00147446

Anxiety · Depression (economics) · Odds ratio · Psychiatry · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Internal Medicine · Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 · Medicine · Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies

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