The Prevalence of Depression in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Who Referred to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Yazd, Iran

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous disease that may cause disability. Depression is verycommon in MS which has a negative impact on quality of life and cognitive status. This study was designed todetermine the prevalence of depression in MS patients, to assess the association of neuropsychological,demographic factors and clinical features of it.Methods: This study was performed on 220 patients. A questionnaire was completed by patients and BeckDepression Inventory (BDI-II) test was used to evaluate the severity of depression.Results: 81.3% of patients had depression based on the cutoff point of 13. A significant relationship was foundbetween gender, treatment duration, motion disability, Cerebellar and pyramidal symptoms and severity ofdepression,also between history of depression and prevalence of it. The prevalence of depression was more inage group of 20-40. No significant association was found between the duration of disease and severity ofdepression and demonstrated an inverse relationship between depression severity and level of education.Conclusion: We conclude, future studies should use a structured interview based on the DSM to assess patients mood.

Keywords:

Multiple sclerosis , prevalence , Depression , neuropsychological , interview