Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Anxiety Disorders and Multiple Sclerosis

Much has been written about MS and depression, but very little about MS and anxiety disorders, specifically panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

I found a fascinating article in the journal Multiple Sclerosis, Anxiety disorders and their clinical correlates in multiple sclerosis patients by M Korostil and A Feinstein (Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 67-72), which sought to determine how common anxiety disorders are in patients with multiple sclerosis. The study was completed by collecting neurological and demographic data, as well as interviewing subjects and completing a battery of assessments, of 140 MS patients who attend a neurological outpatient clinic in Toronto, Canada.

The authors conclude...

Anxiety disorders are common in patients with MS, but are frequently overlooked and under-treated. Risk factors include being female, a co-morbid diagnosis of depression, and limited social support. Clinicians should evaluate all MS subjects for anxiety disorders, as they represent a treatable cause of disability in multiple sclerosis.

Read this post in its entirety:

Mental Health and MS: Anxiety Disorders

1 comment:

  1. ooh, i'm looking forward to reading that article! I have often said that I am the most anxious person I know, I have mild and undiagnosed OCD (which I actually use to my advantage ... see my diet blog), am socially awkward do to what I've always referred to as "being very shy" (it's more like social anxiety) ... anyway, I'm off to read the article with interest. I hide all of this stuff but it's nice to read that there may be a reason for it even if that doesn't fix things. I fix things by just powering through and being brave. :)

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