Presence and significant determinants of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Martina Borghi, Marco Cavallo*, Sara Carletto, Luca Ostacoli, Marco Zuffranieri, Rocco Luigi Picci, Francesco Scavelli, Harriet Johnston, Pier Maria Furlan, Antonio Bertolotto, Simona Malucchi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the presence and the nature of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and to identify clinical and demographic determinants of cognitive impairment in MS. Methods: 303 patients with MS and 279 healthy controls were administered the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological tests (BRB-N); measures of pre-morbid verbal competence and neuropsychiatric measures were also administered. Results: Patients and healthy controls were matched for age, gender, education and pre-morbid verbal Intelligence Quotient. Patients presenting with cognitive impairment were 108/303 (35.6%). In the overall group of participants, the significant predictors of the most sensitive BRB-N scores were: presence of MS, age, education, and Vocabulary. The significant predictors when considering MS patients only were: course of MS, age, education, vocabulary, and depression. Using logistic regression analyses, significant determinants of the presence of cognitive impairment in relapsing-remitting MS patients were: duration of illness (OR = 1.053, 95% CI = 1.010-1.097, p = 0.015), Expanded Disability Status Scale score (OR = 1.247, 95% CI = 1.024-1.517, p = 0.028), and vocabulary (OR = 0.960, 95% CI = 0.936-0.984, p = 0.001), while in the smaller group of progressive MS patients these predictors did not play a significant role in determining the cognitive outcome. Conclusions: Our results corroborate the evidence about the presence and the nature of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with MS. Furthermore, our findings identify significant clinical and demographic determinants of cognitive impairment in a large sample of MS patients for the first time. Implications for further research and clinical practice were discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere69820
Number of pages9
JournalPLoS One
Volume8
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jul 2013

Keywords

  • Brief repeatable battery
  • Scale
  • Speed
  • Population
  • Relevance
  • Deficits
  • Memory
  • MS

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