Disability Status and Quality of Life in Iraqi Patients with Multiple Sclerosis; an Observational Study

Background: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and a major non-traumatic disabling in young adults. Disability adversely affects quality of life, daily activities, and psychological abilities, reducing independence. Therefore, evaluating disability and quality of life is essential to understand the disease burden. Aim: To evaluate the level of disability and its association with health-related quality of life, and to identify sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with both outcomes in Iraqi patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Multiple Sclerosis consultation clinic, Baghdad Medical City. A total of 150 patients with multiple sclerosis were enrolled. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the multiple sclerosis quality of life-29 questionnaire, and disability was evaluated using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Results: Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis was observed in 86%. The median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) among multiple sclerosis patients was 4.5 indicating a moderate level of neurological disability. EDSS showed significant negative correlations with the physical health composite (r = − 0.705, P < 0.001) and the mental health composite (r = − 0.481, P < 0.001) each combining multiple domains of the MSQoL-29. Conclusion: Higher neurological disability is associated with lower quality of life in patients, and the impact is more pronounced on the physical side than the mental. This finding indicates that physical disability alone may not fully capture the overall impact of the disease.