A Disproportionate Burden of Care: Gender Differences in Mental Health, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Social Support in Mexican Multiple Sclerosis Careeivers

摘要

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive, disabling disease which affects an estimated 2.3 million people worldwide [1]. In Latin America in particular, the focus of the current study, the number of individuals diagnosed with MS has been increasing over the past two decades [2, 3]. MS is characterized by autoimmune damage to the myelin sheaths around nerve cells [4]. MS manifests via deficits in the domains of physical (pain and impairments in visual, motor, vestibular, and somatosensory systems), cognitive (attention,processing speed, learning, memory, and executive functions), and emotional (depression and anxiety) functioning [5-8].