Relationships among anxiety, depression, and executive functioning in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Anxiety is a common psychiatric symptom among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), however compared to depression it is relatively under-studied. The relative contribution of anxiety and depression to cognitive functioning was evaluated among 77 persons with MS. Participants completed the Chicago Multiscale Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and neuropsychological measures of executive functioning. Regression analyses indicated that, although both depression and anxiety independently predicted performance on an index of executive functioning, anxiety was uniquely associated with cognitive functioning in MS, above and beyond depression. These results suggest that consideration of anxiety in the assessment and treatment of MS patients is warranted.