MS Patients with Poor Diets, Little Exercise Report Higher Pain Levels in Study

A clear association was seen between the substantial pain that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients experience and lifestyle choices that either augment or ease that pain, like smoking habits, exercise, and diet and weight, researchers in Australia report.

Common co-morbidities associated with MS, such as depression, anxiety, and fatigue, were also seen to hamper efforts to start or maintain healthy behaviors.

The study, “Pain in People with Multiple Sclerosis: Associations with Modifiable Lifestyle Factors, Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, and Mental Health Quality of Life,” and was published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology.

Led by researchers at the University of Melbourne, the work aimed to determine associations between moderate-to-severe pain caused by MS — including headaches, lower back pain, neuropathic pain and painful spasms — and lifestyle and co-morbidity factors that impact the disease in a large international cohort of patients.

The team recruited online 2,362 participants, age 18 and older, with a confirmed MS diagnosis. Participants were from all over the world, but in greater concentrations from English-speaking countries. The online survey collected 2012 data from patients, and the team used statistic tools to analyze the information gathered.

Researchers found that more than a fourth of the participants (28.9%) reported moderate to severe pain that interfered with work, household or enjoyment of life in the four weeks prior to the survey. — Continue Reading

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