The Health-Related Quality of Life Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Living with Multiple Sclerosis and the General Population: A Comparative Study Utilizing the EQ-5D-5L with Psychosocial Bolt-Ons.

Objectives: Studies have shown that people living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) were substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, no study has compared the overall health-related quality of life impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PwMS and the general population. Differences would have implications for crises/pandemic management policies.

The subjective wellbeing of people living with Multiple Sclerosis in Australia: insights from the Personal Wellbeing Index.

Objectives: Subjective wellbeing has been defined as an individual's personal appraisal of their quality of life. Subjective wellbeing is associated with positive health behaviours and improved coping abilities. This study aimed to investigate the subjective wellbeing of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), using the novel Personal Wellbeing Index, and make comparisons with the general population.

Significantly increasing multiple sclerosis prevalence in Australia from 2010 to 2021.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) prevalence is increasing globally.

Objectives: To determine whether increased prevalence is continuing within Australia using our validated prescription-based ascertainment method.

Methods: We used methods employed in our 2010 and 2017 prevalence estimates.

Estimation of Transition Probabilities from a Large Cohort (> 6000) of Australians Living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for Changing Disability Severity Classifications, MS Phenotype, and Disease-Modifying Therapy Classifications.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune/neurodegenerative disease associated with progressing disability affecting mostly women. We aim to estimate transition probabilities describing MS-related disability progression from no disability to severe disability. Transition probabilities are a vital input for health economics models.

The quality of life impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS): evidence from the Australian MS Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: People living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) in metropolitan Victoria, Australia, experienced a 112-day, COVID-19-related lockdown in mid-2020. Contemporaneously, Australian PwMS elsewhere experienced minimal restrictions, resulting in a natural experiment. This study investigated the relationships between lockdowns, COVID-19-related adversity, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Using qualitative free-text data to investigate the lived experience of the COVID-19 pandemic for a large cohort of Australians with different multiple sclerosis related disability levels.

Background: No large-scale qualitative studies have investigated the lived experience of people living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) during the pandemic according to their disability level. We used qualitative research methods to investigate the lived experience of a large cohort of Australians living with differing multiple sclerosis (MS)-related disability levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also provided useful contextualisation to existing quantitative work.

Using the EQ-5D-5L to investigate quality-of-life impacts of disease-modifying therapy policies for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in New Zealand.

Background: Health state utilities (HSU) are a health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) input for cost-utility analyses used for resource allocation decisions, including medication reimbursement. New Zealand (NZ) guidelines recommend the EQ-5D instruments; however, the EQ-5D-5L may not sufficiently capture psychosocial health. We evaluated HRQoL among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in NZ using the EQ-5D-5L and assessed the instrument's discriminatory sensitivity for a NZ MS cohort.

Validation of the EQ-5D-5L and psychosocial bolt-ons in a large cohort of people living with multiple sclerosis in Australia.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system which results in disability over time and reduced quality of life. To increase the sensitivity of the EQ-5D-5L for psychosocial health, four bolt-on items from the AQoL-8D were used to create the nine-item EQ-5D-5L-Psychosocial. We aimed to externally validate the EQ-5D-5L-Psychosocial in a large cohort of people with MS (pwMS) and explore the discriminatory power of the new instrument with EQ-5D-5L/AQoL-8D.