Authors: Benedetta Goretti R G Viterbo E Portaccio C Niccolai B Hakiki E Piscolla P Iaffaldano M Trojano M P Amato
Publish Date: 2013/09/27
Volume: 35, Issue: 4, Pages: 559-563
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of anxiety on the cognitive performance of a clinical sample of relapsing—remitting RR MS patients One hundred ninety patients 140 females were included in the study and assessed through the beck depression inventory the statetrait anxiety inventory and the Rao’s brief repeatable battery which assesses cognitive domains most frequently impaired in MS As for neuropsychological performance a total of 76 40 subjects fulfilled our criterion for cognitive impairment Tests most frequently failed by cognitive impairment CI patients were those assessing complex attention and information processing speed Simbol Digit Modalities Test SDMT Paced Auditory Serial Auditory Test PASAT 3 and 2 and verbal memory In the univariate analysis state anxiety was related to failure on the SDMT p = 0042 and marginally to failure on the PASAT3 p = 0068 and to the presence of CI p = 0082 Moderate/severe depression was detected in 38 20 patients and fatigue in 109 57 Higher depression scores were related to impairment on the ST OR = 105 95 CI 101–110 p = 0029
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