title: The Prevalence of Pain in Adults with Multiple Sclerosis: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Examination of prevalence, intensity and associations of pain in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Multicenter, international cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were recruited from seven MS centers: in Serbia (Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade; Clinic of Neurology, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade; Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Kragujevac; Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Nis; Department of Neurology, General Hospital-Uzice), in Republic of Srpska-Bosnia and Herzegovina (Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Banja Luka) and in Croatia (University Department of Neurology, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb).
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundred and fifty consecutive MS patients diagnosed according to the Revised McDonald criteria (2005), from the aforementioned centers, over the period of 6 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  A semistructured questionnaire was administered during a face-to-face interview with neurologists who also performed Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HARS). To recognize predictive factors for the presence of pain, the linear regression analysis was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lifetime prevalence of pain was 66.5% (point prevalence = 44.3%). The prevalence of the comorbidity of pain and depression was 29.1%. Older age (P < 0.001), primary-progressive MS (P = 0.034), higher EDSS score (P = 0.008), higher scores of HDRS (P < 0.001), and HARS (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with pain. Finally, in our multivariate linear regression analysis, anxiety (P < 0.001) was the independent predictor of pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We confirmed high prevalence of pain, affecting approximately more than half of patients during the course of MS. Pain in MS is associated with disability, depression and, especially with anxiety, which has significant implications for treatment.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Drulovic
authors.affiliation: University Department of Neurology, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Vanja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Basic-Kes
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska-Bosnia and, Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grgic
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska-Bosnia and, Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vojinovic
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Nis, Nis, Serbia.
authors.forename: Evica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dincic
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Toncev
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
authors.forename: Mira Gavric
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kezic
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, General hospital-Uzice.
authors.forename: Darija
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kisic-Tepavcevic
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dujmovic
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Sarlota
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mesaros
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miletic-Drakulic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pekmezovic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Neurology; Pain Disorder