HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-LIFE FOR PATIENTS WITH PROGRESSIVE MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS - INFLUENCE OF REHABILITATION

Background and Purpose. The health-related quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is an important aspect of care outcome. The purpose of this study was to compare health-related quality of lif e between patients who received weekly comprehensive outpatient rehabi litation for 1 year and a group that did not receive rehabilitation. S ubjects. Twelve patients receiving outpatient care for chronic progres sive MS ((X) over bar age = 44.5 years, SD = 11.6) were compared with 19 similar patients ((X) over bar age = 49.2 years, SD = 9.2) on a wai ting-list who were not receiving outpatient care. Methods. A pretest-p osttest longitudinal design was used to descriptively compare outcome measures. Multivariate regression analyses were used to determine whic h variables, controlled for baseline health status and other relevant patient characteristics, were related to the best outcomes at the time of the 1-year follow-up. Results. The treatment group showed improvem ents in six health status measures on the Rand 36-Item Health Survey 1 .0 (SF-36) that were not improved in the wait-listed group. Outpatient treatment was the sole predictor of positive outcome for energy/fatig ue (partial R-2 = .43) and change in general health (partial R-2 = .19 ). In addition, the treatment group was associated with a positive out come (together with other independent variables) in the domains of soc ial function and social support. Conclusion and Discussion, Patients w ith chronic progressive forms of MS appear to derive benefits from an ongoing comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation program.