Cognitive impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis predicts worse caregiver's health-related quality of life

Background: Little information exists about how cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients impacts on their caregivers’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Background: The objective of this paper is to examine the extent to which cognitive impairment in MS patients contributes to caregivers’ HRQoL. Methods: A total of 63 MS patients, 63 caregivers and 59 matched controls were recruited. Patients and controls underwent a neuropsychological assessment, including tests of working memory, speed of information processing, executive function, and verbal fluency. HRQoL of the caregivers was assessed by CAREQOL-MS. In logistic regression models, we adjusted for the effects of confounding variables. In these models, the dependent variable was the CAREQOL-MS (higher median of CAREQOL-MS (worse HRQoL) vs. lower median of CAREQOL-MS (better HRQoL) (reference)), and the independent variable was the impairment on each neuropsychological test vs. its integrity (reference). Results: Cognitive impairment in MS patients was significantly associated with worse caregiver HRQoL (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 3.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07–11.55, p = 0.04). In secondary analyses in which each neuropsychological test was entered in the analyses separately, only Symbol Digit Modalities Test (a measurement of information processing speed) impairment (OR = 4.22, 95%, CI = 1.16–14.53, p = 0.03) was significantly associated with worse caregiver HRQoL. Conclusions: MS patients’ caregivers’ HRQoL is significantly influenced by information processing speed impairment of MS patients.