Magnitude and concurrence of anxiety and depression among attendees at tertiary care neurology unit in Oman with multiple sclerosis (MS)

Background: Anxiety and depression are commonly reported by persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) but no data, to our knowledge, have emerged from Arab Islamic population. Objective: The study aims to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among PwMS attending tertiary care hospital in Oman, Neurology Clinic, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH). The characteristics such as socio-demographic and clinical variables were also explored. Methods: Consecutive and consenting PwMS were subjected to the following measures. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure anxiety (cut-point > 7) and depression (>7). Results: 54 patients with MS participated in our study and approximately 87% were on Interferon. The age range from 17 to 50 and the average age was 31.4 ± 8.84. In terms of gender, majority were female (males=30% vs. 70% females). Approximately 50% of the attendees have acquired university or higher graduate education while 39% had completed secondary education. The rest acquired on the lower strata of education with one illiterate. The majority (69%) of attendees were married while 31% were single. Approximately 83% were employed, students or job-seekers. The majority of the patients had