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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2016; 74(12): 982-985
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20160154
ARTICLE

Patients with multiple sclerosis present low levels of empathy

Pacientes com esclerose múltipla apresentam baixos níveis de empatia
Marcos Barbosa de Almeida
1   Universidade Católica de Santos, Departamento de Psicologia, Santos SP, Brasil;
,
Luana Carramilo Going
1   Universidade Católica de Santos, Departamento de Psicologia, Santos SP, Brasil;
2   Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Programa de Pós-Graduação, Santos SP, Brasil;
,
Yara Dadalti Fragoso
2   Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Programa de Pós-Graduação, Santos SP, Brasil;
3   Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Departamento de Neurologia, Santos SP, Brasil.
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ABSTRACT

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroimmunological disease that mainly affects young adults, leading to neurological disabilities over the course of their lives. Many psychiatric conditions have been reported in patients with MS, but there are remarkably few studies assessing empathy among these patients.

Methods

This is a single center, cross-sectional study, of 34 patients with MS and 34 matched control subjects. A specific questionnaire (empathy quotient) was used.

Results

Patients with MS showed significantly lower levels of empathy. This finding was not correlated with disease duration, degree of disability, drugs for treating MS or lesion load on resonance magnetic imaging.

Conclusion

Decreased empathy is a frequent condition in patients with MS and should be addressed in order to diminish the psychosocial burden of this neurological disease.

RESUMO

Esclerose múltipla (EM) é uma doença crçnica neuroimune que afeta principalmente adultos jovens, levando a incapacidades neurológicas ao longo do curso de suas vidas. Diversas condições psiquiátricas foram relatadas em pacientes com EM, porém existem muito poucos trabalhos que avaliam empatia nestes pacientes.

Métodos

Este foi um estudo transversal e unicêntrico com 34 pacientes com EM e 34 controles saudáveis pareados. Um questionário específico foi utilizado (Quociente de Empatia).

Resultados

Os pacientes com EM mostraram níveis significativamente mais baixos de empatia. Este achado não estava correlacionado com a duração da doença, grau de incapacidade, droga utilizada no tratamento da EM ou carga lesional na ressonância magnética.

Conclusão

Redução da empatia parece ser uma condição frequente em pacientes com EM e deve ser abordada para diminuir a carga psicossocial nos pacientes que apresentam esta doença neurológica.

empathy - multiple sclerosis - psychology
empatia - esclerose múltipla - psicologia


Publication History

Received: 06 July 2016

Accepted: 01 September 2016

Article published online:
06 September 2023

© 2023. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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