Spatial navigation performance in people with multiple sclerosis-a large-scale online study.

OBJECTIVE

Spatial navigation has a crucial function in daily life activities, and is therefore strongly linked to quality of life, autonomy, and mobility. Navigation has been shown to be frequently impaired after forms of acquired brain injury, but the impact of MS on navigation ability has yet to be studied. A better understanding of potential navigation problems in this population could improve patient care. Therefore the aim of the current study was to measure objective and subjective navigation performance in people with MS.

METHODS

Performance of a large sample of people with MS (N = 359) was compared to a group of matched controls. Additionally, the impact of ambulation and self-reported cognitive performance was studied within the MS sample. Participants filled out the Wayfinding Questionnaire, the patient-reported Expanded Disability Status Scale and the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Screening Questionnaire for self-report measures. Objective navigation performance was measured with an online navigation test using a virtual environment.

RESULTS

Results indicate a lower subjective as well as objective performance in people with MS compared to healthy controls, and a substantial contribution of self-reported cognitive performance on navigation ability.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that spatial navigation can be a significant problem in people with MS, especially in people with MS with other cognitive impairments.