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Activities of daily living and social activities in people with multiple sclerosis in Stockholm County

Division of Physiotherapy, Neurotec Department and Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

K Gottberg

S Fredrikson

L von Koch

Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

L Widén Holmqvist

Division of Physiotherapy, Neurotec Department and Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Objective: To describe independence in personal and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL), and frequency of social/lifestyle activities in a population-based sample of people with multiple sclerosis in Stockholm.

Design: Population-based survey.

Setting: Data collection in home environment.

Subjects: One hundred and sixty-six people with multiple sclerosis.

Interventions: Data were collected using measurements and structured interviews.

Main measures: Independence in ADL was assessed by the Barthel Index; independence in personal and instrumental ADL by the Katz Extended ADL Index; and frequency of social/lifestyle activities by the Frenchay Activities Index.

Results: The mean age was 519 ± 12 years in the included 166 people with multiple sclerosis, of whom 71% (n = 118) were women. Fifty-two per cent (n = 85) were independent in personal ADL, 30% (n = 50) in instrumental ADL, and 35% (n = 57) had normal frequency of social/lifestyle activities. Most frequently affected ADL items were cleaning indoors and outdoors transportation (62%, n = 102) and the social/lifestyle items of household maintenance (59%, n = 97), walking outside (59%, n = 97), heavy housework (61%, n = 100), and gardening (68%, n = 112).

Conclusions: ADL and social/lifestyle activities were affected in two-thirds of people with multiple sclerosis in Stockholm. The most affected items were items that could be classified as mobility-related and physically demanding, underlining the importance of developing and using evidence-based exercise treatments and rehabilitation to increase independence in people with multiple sclerosis in Stockholm.

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