Expanding Research on MS Diagnosis Disclosure and Long-Term Impacts: Anne Kever, PhD

A study presented at ACTRIMS Forum 2021, February 25-27, using a newly developed questionnaire, the DISCO-MS, highlighted the association between multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis disclosure and concealment behaviors with increased anxiety and depression.¹ Lead author and presenter Anne Kever, PhD, postdoctoral researcher, Columbia University, claims there are a limited number of studies that examine the effects of diagnosis disclosure in this patient population and that further work needs to be done.

One of the more notable pieces of recent work in this field was published in 2016 by Jonathon E. Cook, PhD, which explored the dimensions of social stigma and their relation to disease concealment in patients with MS.² Kever told NeurologyLive that her next steps are to examine the impact that diagnosis disclosure and concealment might have directly on health behaviors in patients with MS.

Kever sat down to discuss the ways her research may springboard other future projects, as well as some of the results she felt needed further investigating. She also discussed her intrigue for learning more about how these behaviors may impact cognition within this patient group.

For more coverage of ACTRIMS 2021, click here.

REFERENCES

1. Kever A, Leavitt VM. DISCO-MS survey of disclosure and concealment in MS: associations with anxiety and depression. Presented at ACTRIMS Forum 2021; February 25–27, 2021. Abstract P031.

2. Cook JE, Germano AL, Stadler G. An exploratory investigation of social stigma and concealment in patients with multiple sclerosis. Int J MS Care. Published online March 18, 2016. doi: 10.7224/1537-2073.2015-021