Background: Although the relationships among physical disability, mood disorders, and pain are well described in multiple sclerosis (MS), little is known about whether those symptoms are associated with sleep disturbances.
Methods: Forty-six patients with MS experiencing pain participated. Sleep was indirectly measured by assessing rest-activity rhythm via actigraphy: interdaily stability, intradaily variability, and relative amplitude. Pain was assessed using visual and verbal analog scales, mood by the Beck Depression Inventory and Symptom Checklist-90, and physical disability by the Expanded Disability Status Scale.
Results: Incorporating mood, pain, and physical disability into 1 regression model resulted in a significant association with interdaily stability.
Conclusions: Compared with intradaily variability and relative amplitude, interdaily stability seems to be the most vulnerable actigraphy variable for mood disturbances, pain, and physical disabilities.
Keywords: disability; mood; multiple sclerosis; pain; rest-activity rhythm.
© 2023 The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.