Self-Reported Fatigue Levels Predict Performance on Attention Measures in Multiple Sclerosis.

Abstract

Objective: The present study investigates the relationship between cognitive performance, depression, anxiety, and factors of medical burden (i.e., polypharmacy, medical comorbidities, disease duration, disability level, and self-reported fatigue level) in a population of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Method: A retrospective investigation was conducted with data collected from 106 MS patients (87 female; 19 male) referred to an outpatient, hospital-based neuropsychology clinic. Participants underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, which included measures of attention, processing speed, executive functioning, language, motor function, visuospatial abilities, and memory, as well as self-report assessments of depression, anxiety, and fatigue.

Results: After correcting for multiple comparisons, bivariate pairwise correlations revealed positive relationships between number of medications and depression scores, Fatigue Questionnaire scores and depression scores, and Fatigue Questionnaire scores and trait anxiety scores. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that greater scores on the Fatigue Questionnaire predicted lower attention composite scores independent of participants' age or education. No significant relationships between psychiatric factors and cognitive composite scores were identified.

Conclusions: Self-reported level of fatigue, an aspect of medical burden, was associated with cognitive performance in the domain of attention in a sample of MS patients.