TY - JOUR
T1 - Multiple sclerosis, anxiety, and depression in the United Arab Emirates
T2 - Does social stigma prevent treatment?
AU - Schiess, Nicoline
AU - Huether, Katherine
AU - Holroyd, Kathryn B.
AU - Aziz, Faisal
AU - Emam, Essam
AU - Shahrour, Tarek
AU - Szolics, Miklos
AU - Alsaadi, Taoufik
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Background: Depression rates in the multiple sclerosis (MS) population in the Arab world have rarely been reported despite people with MS generally having higher rates of depression. We examined depression rates in 416 people with MS versus the general population of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and their treatment. Methods: A retrospective medical record review of 416 people with MS (age range, 16-80 years) followed up at four large government hospitals in Abu Dhabi was conducted to determine the percentage of people with MS diagnosed as having depression or anxiety. Results: The depression rate in people with MS (10.8%) was close to that in the general population of Abu Dhabi. The adjusted odds ratios of depression by selected variables showed that there was a significant difference (P = .003) between females and males in reporting depression, with more females reporting depression than males. Greater MS duration was also associated with a higher likelihood of being depressed (P = .025). The anxiety rate in the cohort (4.8%) was lower than that in the general Abu Dhabi population (18.7%). Conclusions: The depression rate in people with MS in Abu Dhabi was close to that of the general Abu Dhabi population, but the anxiety rate in people with MS was lower. Explanations for these low rates include possible underreporting by patients and physician factors such as time limitations in busy clinics. Cultural aspects such as strong family support systems and religious factors in this predominantly Muslim population are also possible factors that warrant further investigation.
AB - Background: Depression rates in the multiple sclerosis (MS) population in the Arab world have rarely been reported despite people with MS generally having higher rates of depression. We examined depression rates in 416 people with MS versus the general population of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and their treatment. Methods: A retrospective medical record review of 416 people with MS (age range, 16-80 years) followed up at four large government hospitals in Abu Dhabi was conducted to determine the percentage of people with MS diagnosed as having depression or anxiety. Results: The depression rate in people with MS (10.8%) was close to that in the general population of Abu Dhabi. The adjusted odds ratios of depression by selected variables showed that there was a significant difference (P = .003) between females and males in reporting depression, with more females reporting depression than males. Greater MS duration was also associated with a higher likelihood of being depressed (P = .025). The anxiety rate in the cohort (4.8%) was lower than that in the general Abu Dhabi population (18.7%). Conclusions: The depression rate in people with MS in Abu Dhabi was close to that of the general Abu Dhabi population, but the anxiety rate in people with MS was lower. Explanations for these low rates include possible underreporting by patients and physician factors such as time limitations in busy clinics. Cultural aspects such as strong family support systems and religious factors in this predominantly Muslim population are also possible factors that warrant further investigation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85070350641&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85070350641&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7224/1537-2073.2017-041
DO - 10.7224/1537-2073.2017-041
M3 - Article
C2 - 30833870
AN - SCOPUS:85070350641
SN - 1537-2073
VL - 21
SP - 29
EP - 34
JO - International Journal of MS Care
JF - International Journal of MS Care
IS - 1
ER -