Al-Hussain Fawaz, Al-Salloum Noura, Alazwary Naael, Saeedi Jameelah, Howaidi Sara, Daif Abdulkader
Department of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Family Medicine & Employee Health, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh 11525, Saudi Arabia.
J Comp Eff Res. 2017 Jul;6(5):405-412. doi: 10.2217/cer-2016-0087. Epub 2017 Jul 12.
Studies on multiple sclerosis in Saudi Arabia remain scant, particularly studies on the psychological aspects. This study measures severities of depression, anxiety and stress, and compares them to the used disease-modifying treatment.
MATERIALS & METHODS: Cross-sectional study using a phone questionnaire targeting 452 Saudi patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis following in King Khalid University Hospital, King Fahad Medical City or Security Forces Hospital.
From 235 patients, 149 used interferons, 58 used fingolimod and 28 used natalizumab. Depression scores were similar among all demographic and drug groups. Interferons versus fingolimod anxiety scores were significantly different (p = 0.035). Stress scores were within normal limits.
Mild anxiety was higher among interferon users, which could be due to injection anxiety reasons.
