Demyelinating disorders

Mental health problems are extremely common in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), especially depression and anxiety. Clinically diagnosable depression occurs in about 50% of PwMS over their lifetimes, compared with only about the 8% to 20% reported for the general population. Anxiety has been less well-studied, but it has also been found to be very common, with recent studies suggesting that about 40% of PwMS experience clinically significant anxiety at any given time. In this article, we review factors that may contribute to anxiety and depression in MS. We also discuss some treatment research and provide guidelines for future investigations that may explore these salient and debilitating mental health problems in MS.