MS-DIALOGUE: The connection between mental distress and long-term outcomes
In the UK, over 150,000 people are living with MS. Around half experience clinical levels of anxiety or depression. These symptoms, collectively known as distress, are consistently linked to lower quality of life, loneliness, increased healthcare costs, and reduced employment.
Previous research has found a link between distress and disability, but the direction of this relationship remains unresolved. This means we don't yet know whether distress predicts future disability worsening, whether disability progression leads to distress, or whether both happen in parallel.
About the project
Using data from the UK MS Register, the researchers want to:
- Find out whether increasing distress leads to worsening disability, whether worsening disability increases distress, or whether both happen together over time.
- Understand how distress and disability affect important aspects of everyday life, such as work and social activities.
- Identify the personal (e.g. sex, ethnicity) and medical (e.g. type of MS, time since diagnosis) factors linked to higher levels of distress. They’ll also explore whether combinations of these factors increase the risk of distress, helping them identify people who may need additional support.
- Explore whether lifestyle factors, such as smoking, sleep, diet and body weight, help explain the relationship between distress and disability. For example, whether distress leads to poorer lifestyle habits, which then contribute to worsening disability.
- Identify different patterns in how distress and disability change during the first ten years after diagnosis.
How will it help people with MS?
Insights from this project could help inform when, how, and for whom psychological and supportive interventions should be targeted.
By improving our understanding of these relationships, we can better support personalised care and improve long-term health outcomes for people living with MS.
You might also be interested in
Join the Research Network
Our Research Network make sure all the research we fund reflects the needs and interests of people living with MS. And they help us talk about it in a way that’s accessible to everyone.
Anyone who lives with MS or cares for someone who does can get involved. It doesn't matter where in the UK you live or how much research experience you have.
