Huisman, Ilse (2025) Fatigue in Relapsing Remitting and Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Relationship with Information Processing Speed and Executive Functioning. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Abstract Introduction: Many people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) experience fatigue as a prominent symptom. Previous studies have examined the relationship between general fatigue and cognitive functioning in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, it remains unclear how mental and physical fatigue relate to impairments in information processing speed (IPS) and executive functioning (EF) in PwMS, and how this manifests in the subtypes relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Method: A total of 262 PwMS were included, categorized into RRMS (n = 164), SPMS (n = 59), primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS; n = 29) and an unknown subtype (n = 10), together with 90 healthy controls (HCs). Assessment included The Dutch Multifactor Fatigue Scale (subscales mental and physical fatigue) for fatigue, IPS tests (The Symbol Digit Modalities Test and Trail Making Test - A) and EF tests (The Dutch version of the Controlled Oral Word Association Test and Trail Making Test - B). Results: PwMS had a significantly higher level of both mental and physical fatigue and performed significantly lower on all measures for IPS and EF (p < .001) than HCs. When comparing the subtypes, the SPMS group performed significantly lower than the RRMS group on IPS and EF (p < .001), whereas no significant differences were found for mental and physical fatigue. Furthermore, a small positive relationship (rₛ = .17) was found between physical fatigue and the TMT A in the PwMS group, but mental fatigue was not associated with any measure for IPS or EF in all groups. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that PwMS exhibit impairments on IPS and EF and experience excessive mental and physical fatigue when compared to controls. Furthermore, the lack of correlation between mental fatigue and IPS or EF performance suggests the need to explore other factors underlying mental fatigue in PwMS. Keywords: Multiple Sclerosis, Mental fatigue, Physical fatigue, Information Processing Speed, Executive functioning
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Reinhardt, A. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Clinical Neuropsychology (CN) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Jul 2025 08:50 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Jul 2025 08:50 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5379 |
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