Quality of life in MS: does aging enhance perceptions of mental health?
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to examine the relationship between age and quality of life in middle aged and older adults with MS.


METHODS
Individuals with MS, recruited through a Comprehensive Care Centre and local registries of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, completed a telephone interview which incorporated several scales of the MS Quality of Life Inventory. Participants were divided into three age groups reflective of developmental transitions in adulthood, from midlife transition to late adulthood.


RESULTS
Between group comparisons controlling for physical functioning and duration of MS revealed that the oldest age group (age 65 and above) reported significantly better mental health than the middle age group (age 50-64), but not the youngest age group (age 35-49). Differences between the middle and youngest age group were not significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that perhaps the process of getting older, or factors related to being older, enhance perceptions of mental health in individuals with MS. Results are discussed within the context of social comparison theory, which might be an adaptive strategy that could underlie response shift in older individuals with MS.
Dilorenzo
Terry A
TA
Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, New York, New York 10016, USA. dilorenz@yu.edu
Halper
June
J
Picone
Mary Ann
MA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life