Table 1.
Study participant characteristics
| Participant characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Sex (female)* | 133 (81.6%) |
| Education (bachelor degree or higher) | 102 (62.6%) |
| Relationship status (married)* | 84 (51.5%) |
| Employment (employed)* | 62 (38%) |
| Additional chronic medical condition | 50 (30.7%) |
| Duration of MS (years) | 6.39±3.97 |
| DMT type | |
| Interferon-beta | 122 (74.8%) |
| Natalizumab | 9 (5.5%) |
| Fingolimod | 6 (3.7%) |
| Teriflunomide | 1 (0.61%) |
| Other | 25 (15.3%) |
| Family history of MS | 31 (19.0%) |
| Adherence on VAS (%) | 79.47±25.26 |
| Supernatural belief | 85 (52.1%) |
| Past history of psychiatric illness | 8 (4.9%) |
| PHQ9 | 9.67±6.52 |
| GAD7 | 8.37±5.73 |
| PHQ15 | 10.60±5.65 |
| ECR-16 anxious | 33.79± 11.30 |
| ECR-16 avoidance | 23.57±9.54 |
| MOCA | 20.23±4.66 |
Notes:
*
Data listed as frequency (%); all other data listed as mean ± standard deviation. Married included common law; however, no participants were in a common-law relationship. Supernatural belief represents patients’ belief that MS is due to supernatural reasons like magic, possession, and/or an “evil eye”.
Abbreviations: MS, multiple sclerosis; DMT, disease-modifying treatment; VAS, visual analog scale; PHQ9, Patient Health Questionnaire-9; GAD7, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale; PHQ15, Patient Health Questionnaire-15; ECR16, Experiences in Close Relationships 16-item scale; MOCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment.