The Symptoms of Depression and the Sociodemographic Factors in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Introduction. Multiple sclerosis is a common, chronic disease of the central nervous system. It is a disorder that causes major changes in an organism and disorganizes to a large extent both patient’s and his family’s life. Mainly, it can worsen the functional ability of a patient in all aspects of daily life. One of the symptoms that occur in the course of the illness is depression (with a broad spectrum of its severity).
Aim. The aim of this work is to analyze the occurrence of depression symptoms in correlation with sociodemographic factors in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.
Material and Methods. The research was carried out in the neurology ward and rehabilitation studio at Ludwik Błażek Multispeciality Hospital in Inowroclaw. The participants were 91 patients with multiple sclerosis. The research was done with the use of diagnostic survey method (a survey technique based on a questionnaire prepared by the researchers) and Beck’s Depression Inventory.
Results. The sociodemographic factors that affect the occurrence of depression symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis are: their age (p=0.000), level of education (p=0.009) and professional activity (p=0.001).
Conclusions. The research showed that more than half of participants have depression symptoms with a broad spectrum of its severity. (JNNN 2016;5(1):4–9)