Personal factors, functioning and disease-specific factors of persons with MS, cohabiting with partners participating in the baseline study (n=64) and at 10-year follow-up (n=40), and in the cohort of persons cohabiting with the same partner on both occasions (n=24)
| Personal factors, functioning and disease-specific factors of persons with MS | Sample of persons with MS at baseline n=64 | Sample of persons with MS at 10-year follow-up n=40 | Cohort of persons with MS cohabiting with partner on both occasions, baseline n=24 | Cohort of persons with MS cohabiting with partner at 10-year follow-up n=24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Women | 40 (63) | 26 (65) | 13 (54) | |
| Age, mean (SD), range | 51 (12), 26–79 | 60 (10), 37–89 | 50 (12), 26–79 | 61 (11), 37–89 |
| University education | 28 (44) | 19 (47) | 10 (42) | |
| Working | 26 (41) | 12 (30) | 11 (46) | 7 (29) |
| Weak SOC | 6 (10)n=60 | 4 (13)n=31 | 3 (13) | 3 (16)n=19 |
| Depressive symptoms >10 BDI | 26 (43)n=60 | 11 (30)n=37 | 9 (38) | 8 (35)n=23 |
| SDMT below normal | 28 (47)n=60 | 15 (43)n=35 | 12 (52)n=23 | 7 (35) |
| NHPT below normal | 46 (72) | 25 (63) | 17 (71) | 18 (75) |
| Cannot walk or walks below normal speed | 56 (88) | 36 (92)n=39 | 19 (79) | 21 (91)n=23 |
| Katz dependent total | 46 (72) | 30 (75) | 16 (67) | 17 (71) |
| Low frequency of lifestyle activities | 43 (67) | 25 (63) | 14 (58) | 15 (63) |
| EDSS | ||||
| Mild, 0–3 | 19 (30) | 4 (10) | 7 (29) | 3 (12) |
| Moderate, 3.5–5.5 | 7 (11) | 13 (32) | 4 (17) | 4 (17) |
| Severe, 6–6.5 | 25 (39) | 9 (23) | 8 (33) | 5 (21) |
| Very severe 7–9.5 | 13 (20) | 14 (35) | 5 (21) | 12 (50) |
| Type of MS, relapsing | 23 (36) | 9 (23) | 6 (25) | 4 (17) |
BDI, Beck depression Inventory; EDSS, Expanded disability Status Scale; MS, multiple sclerosis; NHPT, Nine-Hole-Peg Test; SDMT, Symbol Digit Modalities Test; SOC, Sense Of Coherence scale.