Relationship between stigma and symptom burden in patients with multiple sclerosis

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Background & Objective: Patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) may experience discrimination and stigma. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between stigma and the symptom burden in PwMS. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between June 2020 and September 2021 on MS patients enrolled in the neurology outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Turkiye. Multiple Sclerosis-Related Symptom Checklist and Neuroquality of Life (Neuro-QoL)-Stigma Scale were used to collect data. Results: The mean age of the 195 study patients was 37.5 (± 9.7) years and 67.2% were female. One-fourth of the patients (26.2%) had a primary education level, and the unemployment rate was 9.7%. The patients reported that their private life (issues such as getting married, having boyfriend/girlfriend or problems in marital life) was affected the most (23.6%) by MS. The mean stigma burden scale scores of the patients were 37.9 (± 18.2). It was found that the stigma score of the patients was not significantly related to age, gender, education, and employment (p> 0.05); but was worse in divorced/widowed patients (p = 0.039); and was worse in patients who reported that their work, school, and private life were affected due to MS (p <0.05). The regression analysis showed that neuropsychiatric (p<0.001), urinary (p<0.001) and sensory (p=0.029) symptoms contributed the most to stigma. Conclusions: A study on PwMS in Turkiye showed a mild level of stigma. The symptom burden of the patients correlated with the stigma level suggesting that effective symptom control may help reduce the stigma level of PwMS.