Patient Attitudes to Routine Cognitive Testing in Multiple Sclerosis

Figures & data

Table 1 Participant Characteristics

MS Type	Interview Type and Patient No.	SDMT Score at Time of Inclusion	Gender	Age	Time of Diagnosis	Occupational Status	Family Status
Secondary progressive MS	II-1	19	M	56	2001	Disability pension	Single Adult child
	II-2	20	M	60	1996	Disability pension	Single
	II-3	27	F	43	1999	Disability pension	Single Child at home Adult child
	II-4	34	M	53	1999	Disability pension	Married Adult children
	II-5	37	F	59	1998	Flex job	Married Adult children
	II-6	68	F	55	2010	Disability pension	Single
Relapsing-remitting MS	II-7	40	F	40	2004	16 h/w. flex job	Married
	FG-8	43	M	32	2016	Full-time work	Married 2 young children
	II-9	45	F	55	2014	34 h/w. work	Co-hab. partner, Adult child
	FG-10	48	F	46	2017	Unemployed. Applying for disability pension	Single Adult child Teen at home
	FG-11	55	F	45	2018	Full-time work	Married 2 teens at home
	II-12	57	F	25	2018	Student (leave)	Partner (not cohabiting)

Abbreviations: II, Individual interview; FG, focus group; MS, multiple sclerosis; SDMT, Symbol Digital Modalities Test; h/w, hours per week.

Table 2 Participants’ Self-Reported Symptoms

MS Type	Pt. no.	All Current Self-Reported MS Symptoms: Shaded Cells Indicate Presence of Problems with the Specific Symptom										Current Self-Reported Cognitive Symptoms (Problems with)	Subjective Main Symptom Affecting QoL
		Fatigue	Gait/Balance	Muscle Weakness	Neuropathy/Pain	Spasms/Cramps	Incontinence	Hyperactive Bladder	Poor Sleep	Impaired Vision	Cognitive Difficulties
Secondary progressive MS	II-1												Gait
	II-2											Slow thinking, learning, memory, attention, language (straying), structuring, organizing, anger, frustration	Gait
	II-3											Confusion, attention, flexibility (changing plans), memory, language (expression), multitasking, mood/emotional sensitivity, anger, stress, overview	Gait
	II-4											Poor coping with crowds and noise, attention, irritability, anger	Gait/pain Hyperactive bladder
	II-5											(Minor problems with language and slow thinking when tired)	Gait
	II-6											Slow thinking, memory, attention, excessive thoughts, language (expression, prosody), irritability, confusion, (understanding)	Fatigue Hyperactive bladder
Relapsing-remitting MS	II-7											Language (expression, straying), attention, sensitivity to sensory overload, overview (need for planning and structure), creativity (getting ideas), stress, irritability, memory, multitasking, learning, writing (spelling words and numbers)	Fatigue CD
	FG-8											Memory, attention, irritability, overview, (social gatherings)	Neuropathy (legs)
	II-9											(Minor memory issues)	Neuropathic pain (legs)
	FG-10											Memory, major anger (lacking control of expression), language (expression), attention, difficulties coping with noise and many people, difficulty with speed	Gait/pain (CD)
	FG-11											Memory, planning, teaching, attention, difficulties coping with crowds (eg shopping) and movement around her (eg speed), mental fatigue, overview	Fatigue CD
	II-12											Language (expression), analysis (seeing connections and patterns), overview, slow thinking, attention, memory, multitasking, emotional sensitivity, stress, anger	CD

Abbreviations: II, Individual interview; FG, focus group; MS, multiple sclerosis; CD, cognitive difficulties.

Figure 1 Patient experiences with CD and attitudes toward cognitive testing.