A Comprehensive Approach to Psychological Challenges in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: The Role of Transdiagnostic Factors and Demographic Variables

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) can become a significant challenge due to its high comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders. Despite extensive research on psychological symptoms in MS, the role of transdiagnostic protective factors, demographic variables, and the interplay between these factors have received less attention. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between psychological symptoms, transdiagnostic factors, and demographic variables in patients with MS. Methods: Data were collected and analyzed from 154 patients with MS. The participants completed the demographic data form, Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), generalized anxiety disorder-7 scale, the difficulties in emotion regulation scale, and Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CDRS). Path analyses were performed using the lavaan package in R software. Results: The findings indicate that a higher age at MS onset and longer disease duration are directly associated with increased depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, as well as patients’ perception of disability (PDS). Additionally, resilience negatively and difficulties in emotion regulation positively contributed to more severe symptoms of depression OCD and anxiety. Through the mediating role of depression, resilience and difficulties in emotion regulation are indirectly associated with a milder and more severe PDS, respectively. Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of demographic characteristics, particularly the role of disease duration in the development of depression, as well as the impact of depression on patients’ PDS. Moreover, the protective role of resilience and the detrimental role of difficulties in emotion regulation underscores the need for targeted psychological interventions in MS rehabilitation.