Survey on Factors Affecting the Recurrence of Multiple sclerosis Attacks

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and progressive disease of the central nervous system. The identification of effective factors and patient education on the prevention of exposure to these factors can be effective in reducing relapses. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the factors that affect recurrence in patients with multiple sclerosis. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 402 MS patients referred to the MS Association of Mashhad, Iran, in 2013. The study participants were selected using purposive sampling method. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire and a 40-item researcher-made questionnaire concerning factors affecting the recurrence of MS. The 40-item questionnaire consisted of 4 domains; personal factors, medical condition, pharmaceutical conditions, and environmental factors. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 21 and Mann Whitney, Pearson correlation, Kruskal Wallis, and chi-square statistical tests. Among the patients, 21/4% were male and 78/6% female. Most patients were 20-29 years old. The highest prevalence of recurrence of MS was observed in the summer (70.8%) and in August (50.3%). There was no significant relationship between patient’s gender and their views about the relationship between infections, fatigue, and heat and recurrence of MS. However, a higher rate of women believed stress (P < 0.029) and sexual development (P < 0.001) to be effective on the incidence of MS recurrence, in comparison to men. Most patients with MS are women, and they believe stress to be more effective on the incidence of MS attack recurrence. Therefore, nurses, as the primary care educators, can improve the patients’ capability, disease management, and quality of life through training of stress management techniques.