Quality of life and occupational performance of people with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological chronic degenerative disease with a wide range of signs and symptoms that can compromise quality of life (QOL) and occupational performance (OP) of the individuals who have it. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence of possible correlation between OP and QOL of people with MS. Method: This is a quantitative research whose individuals attended the neurology clinics of the hospital of a federal university in the state of Minas Gerais. The OP and the QOL were obtained by the Portuguese versions of the instruments Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Functional Assessment of Quality of Life (DEFU), respectively. Data analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The sample involved 24 subjects, 66.7% female with an average age of 48.3 years (SD = 10.21). The relapsing remitting type (RR) of MS was the most frequently observed (91.7%). The results of the COPM showed that most participants showed a performance ranging from moderate to bad. The activities listed as difficult were “walking down the street, up and down stairs, go to the house of family and friends, dancing and reading (score of 6.7 by around 75% of the subjects). The QOL of the participants were good, according to the DEFU, with 90% of subjects achieving a score above 72 points. The association between the total score of the DEFU with the scores of the COPM showed no statistically significant correlation. The correlation between the domain “mobility” of DEFU correlated significantly with the score of the performance of the COPM (r = 0.438, p = 0.032). Conclusion: Fatigue is one of the most common and disturbing manifestations of MS and can compromise the performance of people in different ways, being reported by 92% of subjects in the study. It can be explained by the decreased number of outbreaks observed, the RR type of the disease and a possible family and social support. It is worth noting that some research participants pointed out they get acquainted with the aspects of the disease by the Internet or meetings and associations, a fact that, according to them, led them to become aware of the evolutionary and deteriorating character of the disease. This may have led them to reflect on their life situation and influenced their opinion about its quality.