The effect of social support on the quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the predictive value of social support on health related quality of life (HRQoL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.


METHODS
The sample is composed by 150 MS consecutive patients. We used the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey to assess social support and the Health Status Questionnaire to assess HRQoL. For inferential analysis, we used the Multiple Linear Regression with stepwise selection of variables.


RESULTS
The age, basic education, psychological support and disability explains 41.6% of the variance in physical function, 29.4% in physical performance and 30.6% in emotional performance. Age and psychological support explains 23.1% of the variance in physical function and 29.4% in vitality.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated that social support is a predictor with a significant effect on HRQoL in MS.
School of Social Work, Porto, Portugal. dcac.costa@gmail.com
David Castro
DC
Costa
Maria José
MJ
Sá
José M
JM
Calheiros
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult