ArticlePloS one2012
A large-scale study of anxiety and depression in people with Multiple Sclerosis: a survey via the web portal of the UK MS Register.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 66 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
MS Wellness Navigator: The Effect of Nurse Practitioner (NP-led) Care on Mood, Anxiety and Health Related Quality of Life in People With Multiple Sclerosis - A Randomized Trial
Using Patient-Reported Outcomes To Improve the Care of People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Trial
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of meeting exercise guidelines on depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Physiotherapy theory and practice · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of web-implemented exercise interventions on depression and anxiety in patients with neurological disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Pooled it
- The prevalence and risk factors of anxiety in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- A Web-Based Lifestyle-Related Course for People Living With Multiple Sclerosis: Quantitative Evaluation of Course Completion, Satisfaction, and Lifestyle Changes Among Participants Enrolled in a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR human factors · 2025Trial
- The late onset of emotional distress in people with progressive multiple sclerosis during the Covid-19 pandemic: longitudinal findings from the CogEx study.Journal of neurology · 2022Trial
- Home-based Pilates for symptoms of anxiety, depression and fatigue among persons with multiple sclerosis: An 8-week randomized controlled trial.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2021Trial
- Peer support needs and engagement among people with multiple sclerosis: Associations with social support, loneliness and wellbeing: A cross-sectional study.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Global Prevalence and Risk Factors of Suicidal Ideation in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Cognitive awareness in people with multiple sclerosis before and after neuropsychological assessment.Journal of neurology · 2025Observational
- Cell therapy with placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis patients in a phase 1 clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Aging and the neuropsychiatry of multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional study.Journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Behavioral disorders in multiple sclerosis: a comprehensive review.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2025Review
- Depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis. Review of a fatal combination.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2024Review
- Physical Activity, Bleedings and Quality of Life in Subjects with Haemophilia A without Inhibitors-A Multicenter, Observational Italian Study with a Wearable Device.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Disease-modifying therapy initiation patterns in multiple sclerosis in three large MS populations.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2024Article
- Astrocyte Activation and Drug Target in Pathophysiology of Multiple Sclerosis.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024Review
- Scale development to evaluate differences between concern about falling and fear of falling: the concern and fear of falling evaluation.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Depression and Anxiety in Association with Polypharmacy in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Depressive symptoms, anxiety and cognitive impairment: emerging evidence in multiple sclerosis.Translational psychiatry · 2023Review
- Determining Current Medications Usage within a Cohort of Patients in the UK-A Descriptive Retrospective Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionStudies have found that people with Multiple Sclerosis experience relatively high rates of anxiety and depression. Although methodologically robust, many of these studies had access to only modest sample sizes (N<200). The aims of this study were to use responses gained via the web portal of the UK MS Register (N>4000) to: describe the depression and anxiety profiles of people with MS; to determine if anxiety and depression are related to age or disease duration; and to assess whether the levels of anxiety and depression differ between genders and types of MS.
methodsFrom its launch in May 2011 to the end of December 2011, 7786 adults with MS enrolled to take part in the UK MS Register via the web portal. The responses to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were collated with basic demographic and descriptive MS data provided at registration and the resulting dataset was analysed in SPSS (v.16).
resultsThe mean HADS score among the 4178 respondents was 15.7 (SE 0.117, SD 7.55) with a median of 15.0 (IQR 11). Anxiety and depression rates were notably high, with over half (54.1%) scoring ≥ 8 for anxiety and 46.9% scoring ≥ 8 for depression. Women with relapsing-remitting MS were more anxious than men with this type (p<0.001), and than women with other types of MS (p = 0.017). Within each gender, men and women with secondary progressive MS were more depressed than men or women with other types of MS (p<0.001, p<0.001).
conclusionsThis largest known study of its kind has shown that anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in people with MS, indicating that their mental health needs could be better addressed. These findings support service planning and further research to provide the best care for people with MS to help alleviate these debilitating conditions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.