QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS - THE DISABILITY AND IMPACT PROFILE (DIP)

Seventy-three Dutch and Flemish patients with definite multiple sclero sis (MS) were assessed by means of the Disability and Impact Profile ( DIP), which is a 2 x 39 item, self-administered questionnaire with par allel questions about disabilities and their importance for or impact on the patient, resulting in a profile of weighted scores. It was desi gned as a tool for clinical assessment of quality of life (QoL) domain s in MS patients. Group data showed more than 50% loss on weighted sco res for ''walk'', ''clean home'', ''work'' and ''worry about deteriora tion''. In individual patients a median of 7 (range 0-23) major disrup tions of quality of life (MD-QoL: loss on weighted score more than 50% ) was found. Prevalence of MD-QoL in more than 10% of the patients was found for as many as 31 disabilities and > 50% for 3 (''clean home'', ''work'' and ''worry about deterioration''). Results in the MS group were compared with available data from 25 patients with rheumatoid art hritis (RA) and 25 patients with a spinal cord lesion (SCI). Weighted scores of ''read'', ''memory'' and ''concentration'' were significantl y lower in the MS group than in the RA and SCI groups. Significantly l ower weighted scores in both the MS and RA groups compared with the SC I group were found for ''worry about deterioration'', ''physical endur ance'', ''clean home'', ''work'', ''see'' and ''write''. In conclusion , major disruptions in many domains of QoL were found in MS patients. Weighted score profiles for MS were in accordance with clinical manife stations. Unlike Kurtzke's Extended Disability Status Scale, DUP asses ses a wide range of potentially MS-affected human activities, and also takes into account the subjective perception of disabilities.