Depression, Quality of Life Differ With Age in Multiple Sclerosis

New research findings suggests that older persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) generally report fewer symptoms of severe depression and better quality of life (QOL) than do younger persons with MS.

In the healthy general population, the older persons get, the more they self-report a higher level well-being. But research about this association in persons with MS have yielded conflicting results, so researchers from New York University in New York City and the Kessler Foundation in East Hanover, New Jersey, examined the differences in depression and QOL among 3 age groups of persons with MS.

A total of 57 participants with MS were divided into 3 age groups: 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 to 65 years. Using validated depression and QOL measurement scales, the researchers found that participants in the oldest group reported significantly fewer severe depressive symptoms and better physical QOL than the youngest group did. These findings, the authors wrote, are consistent with “theoretical predictions of improved subjective well-being with age.”

While this may be good news for older persons with MS, the researchers noted that “[y]ounger individuals with MS may be at higher risk for depression and poor QOL,” and they called for further research into subjective well-being in adults with MS based on socioemotional theories of aging. “Age-specific assessments and interventions to promote well-being may be warranted in this population,” they concluded.

—Michael Gerchufsky

Reference:

Stern BZ, Strober L, DeLuca J, Goverover Y. Subjective well-being differs with age in multiple sclerosis: a brief report. Rehabil Psychol. 2018;63(3):474-478. http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/rep0000220. Accessed September 20, 2018.