Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Southern Clinics of Istanbul Eurasia, cilt.32, sa.2, ss.141-145, 2021 (Hakemli Dergi)
Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, inflammatory, chronic, and neurodegenerative disease. One of the most common symptoms of MS patients is urinary incontinence with high rates of up to 90%. The previous studies have shown that urinary incontinence reduces the quality of life of MS patients. However, it is not known whether there is a relationship between the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores, which determine the physical disability level of MS, and the quality of life scores caused by urinary problems. For this reason, our study focuses on the relationship between EDSS scores and King’s Health Questionnaire (KHQ) scores, which is one of the quality of life questionnaires specific to urinary incontinence. Methods: The study included 32 female patients aged 18–65 years, diagnosed with MS, and received outpatient treatment at the Neurology Clinic of Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine Hospital. There was no categorization among the patients’ EDSS scores. Quality of life associated with urinary incontinence was measured with the KHQ. Normal distribution was assessed by Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and non-parametric correlation was calculated by Spearman’s rho coefficients using SPSS version 22. Results: It was found a statistically significant negative correlation between urinary incontinence- related quality of life and disability status (r=0.392, p<0.05). Conclusion: In our study, we found that MS patients with high EDSS scores have low urinary continence-related quality of life scores.