MS in the Bedroom

DALLAS — Cognitive dysfunction was an independent risk factor for sexual dysfunction in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results of a prospective cohort study presented here.

Sexual dysfunction was 1.5 times more common in MS patients with perceived cognitive impairment, reported Jing Wu, a graduate student at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and George Jelinek, MD, of the University of Melbourne in Australia, and co-authors at the 2019 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) forum.

Prior studies have shown that people with MS often experience sexual dysfunction, at rates of 40% to 80%. Sexual problems exact a toll on patients’ well-being: a survey of 6,183 patients in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) registry found that sexual dysfunction had a much larger detrimental impact on the mental health aspects of health-related quality of life in MS patients than severity of physical disability.

Last year, a study at Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio showed that 64.2% of patients reported sexual dysfunction; those patients also showed significantly worse average depressive symptom scores.

Depressive and anxiety symptoms also have been associated with reduced cognitive functioning in MS. Despite the prevalence of both sexual and cognitive dysfunction in MS patients, there has been little research about the relationship between the two until now, said Wu.

Click to continue reading

To receive The MS BEACON, e-Newsletter, Click here

——————————————————

               

Article Provided by:  #MSViewsandNews

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::