Improving Quality of Life in Polish patients with multiple sclerosis: a multicentre analysis.

Abstract

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease leading to disability, that mostly affects young and middle-aged adults. This study was aimed at evaluating the impact of sociodemographic and clinical factors, including changes in access to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), on the quality of life (QoL) of Polish individuals with MS and to compare the findings to earlier national studies.

Material and methods: Data was collected from patients with MS across 19 MS treatment centres in Poland between February and April 2024. QoL was assessed using the EuroQol five-dimension, five-level (EQ-5D-5L) index and the EQ Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS). Sociodemographic and clinical data was obtained via a standardised questionnaire.

Results: The study included 3,165 patients with MS (mean age: 42.03 years; disease duration: 10.6 ± 7.85 years; female-to-male ratio 2.2:1). The mean EQ-5D-5L index score was 0.89 (± 0.15), and the mean EQ-VAS score was 71.58 (± 18.67), indicating an overall moderate-to-good QoL in the studied cohort. Pain/discomfort (80.7%) and anxiety/depression (79.6%) were the most frequently reported problems. Higher QoL scores were associated with younger age, relapsing-remitting MS, lower disability (EDSS ≤ 3.5), shorter disease duration, lack of comorbidities, employment, urban residence, childlessness, DMT usage, and infrequent DMTs switches (p < 0.001). When compared to earlier Polish studies, these results suggest a meaningful improvement in QoL over the past decade.

Conclusions: The QoL of Polish patients with MS remains diminished compared to that of the general population. However, there has been a notable improvement compared to previous national data. This trend probably reflects advances in MS care, including wider access to novel DMTs and optimised treatment strategies.