نگرش بيماران مبتلا به مولتيپل اسكلروزيس در مورد تاثير بيماري بر فعاليت اجتماعي و جنسي آنان

Attitude of patients with MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS towards the impacts of the disease on their social and sexual activities.

Aim and Background: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) is a chronic disease with relapsing and remitting periods. As it can make disabilities in patientsʹ physical activities, MS can affect patientsʹ psycho-social status to various degrees. The aim of this study was to evaluate attitudes of patients with MS towards the impacts of the disease on their social and sexual activities. Method and Materials: One hundred patients with a diagnosis of MS hospitalized in Azʹzahra Hospital in 2006-2007 were selected through a simple randomized sampling. Data was collected using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as well as two other researcher-made questionnaires to assess patientsʹ attitudes. Data was analyzed by SPSS-12 software using t-test and ANOVA. Findings: The mean score of patientsʹ attitude toward the adverse impacts of MS on their social & sexual activities were 23.64 and 14.23 respectively (the mean scores of the tests are 24 for impacts on social activities and 12 for impacts on sexual activities). According to the results, patients with MS believed that the disease has had a moderate impact on their social activities but a relatively high adverse impact on their sexual ones. Conclusion: Patients with MS viewed the disease as moderately disturbing for their social activities and highly interfering with their sexual life. There were significant differences in this regard according to sex and depression co-morbidity.