TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationship of perceived stress and employment status in individuals with multiple sclerosis
AU - Beier, Meghan
AU - Hartoonian, Narineh
AU - D'Orio, Vanessa L.
AU - Terrill, Alexandra L.
AU - Bhattarai, Jagriti Jackie
AU - Paisner, Noah D.
AU - Alschuler, Kevin N.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by the Multiple Sclerosis Research and Training Grant funded by the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (grant nos. H133B031129, H133B080025), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (grant no. MB 0008). This investigation was also supported (in part) by the Mentor-Based Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Rehabilitation Research from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Grant Contract Number MB 0032.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - BACKGROUND: Many individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are unemployed relatively soon after diagnosis. There is a paucity of research on the relationship between psychological distress and employment status in persons with MS. OBJECTIVE: To explore the relative distress of employed versus unemployed individuals with MS. METHODS: Secondary cross-sectional analysis of a mailed survey. Variables were categorized by demographics (age, gender, education, marital status), disease (EDSS, MS symptom duration, fatigue, MS-type), and psychosocial factors (depression, anxiety, perceived stress, self-reported general cognitive concerns, self-reported executive dysfunction). Univariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables significantly associated with employment status. All significant variables were then included in a multivariate model to identify the most salient correlates. RESULTS: Univariate analyses identified 10 variables that were significantly associated with employment status: age, education, EDSS, MS symptom duration, MS-type, depression symptoms, perceived stress, fatigue, and self-reported cognitive symptoms. The multivariate model yielded four demographic and disease-related variables and one emotional distress variable (older age, moderate disability [EDSS], longer symptom duration, MS-type, higher perceived stress) as significant. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for disease variables, demographics, and significant psychosocial factors, perceived stress remained associated with employment status, such that greater perceived stress was associated with being unemployed.
AB - BACKGROUND: Many individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are unemployed relatively soon after diagnosis. There is a paucity of research on the relationship between psychological distress and employment status in persons with MS. OBJECTIVE: To explore the relative distress of employed versus unemployed individuals with MS. METHODS: Secondary cross-sectional analysis of a mailed survey. Variables were categorized by demographics (age, gender, education, marital status), disease (EDSS, MS symptom duration, fatigue, MS-type), and psychosocial factors (depression, anxiety, perceived stress, self-reported general cognitive concerns, self-reported executive dysfunction). Univariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables significantly associated with employment status. All significant variables were then included in a multivariate model to identify the most salient correlates. RESULTS: Univariate analyses identified 10 variables that were significantly associated with employment status: age, education, EDSS, MS symptom duration, MS-type, depression symptoms, perceived stress, fatigue, and self-reported cognitive symptoms. The multivariate model yielded four demographic and disease-related variables and one emotional distress variable (older age, moderate disability [EDSS], longer symptom duration, MS-type, higher perceived stress) as significant. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for disease variables, demographics, and significant psychosocial factors, perceived stress remained associated with employment status, such that greater perceived stress was associated with being unemployed.
KW - MS symptoms
KW - Occupational status
KW - emotional distress
KW - productivity
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U2 - 10.3233/WOR-192859
DO - 10.3233/WOR-192859
M3 - Article
C2 - 30829635
AN - SCOPUS:85062418061
VL - 62
SP - 243
EP - 249
JO - Work
JF - Work
SN - 1051-9815
IS - 2
ER -