Quality of life in Polish patients with multiple sclerosis.

Purpose: This study is a pilot evaluation of the quality of life (QoL) in Polish patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Material/methods: Data from 21 centers in Poland were collected from May 2008 to January 2009. QoL was assessed using the questionnaire Euro Quality of Life (EQ-5D), with Polish population norms. Demographic profile of patients, duration/form/relapsing activity of the disease, disability and comorbidity were also analyzed.

Results: Data from 3521 patients (F/M ratio 2.4:1) were collected. The average EQ-5D index was 0.8 ± 0.27 and the mean score in a visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) was 65.6 ± 21.5. There was a highly significant positive correlation between both indices (r=0.7334, p<0.0001). The mean patient age was 40.7 years (11.2-92.3 years) and disease duration was 10.3 ± 8.8 years (0.04-53 years). 74.2% of subjects had relapsing-remitting form of MS, while 17.2% were classified as secondary progressive and 8.6% as primary progressive. In the group of relapsing-remitting MS subjects there were 2.5% patients with "benign MS". The average degree of disability on EDSS scale was 3.6 ± 2.2, while disability ≥6 was observed in 20.3% of patients. Most patients did not have other diseases besides MS.

Conclusions: This is the first large study of QoL in patients with MS in Poland (approximately 18% of all patients). Our results confirm a reduction in QoL compared with the general population. Further studies are indicated to identify the modifiable risk factors (e.g. type of treatment) that may affect QoL.