AUTHOR=Leong Teng I. , Weiland Tracey J. , Jelinek George A. , Simpson Steve , Brown Chelsea R. , Neate Sandra L. , Taylor Keryn L. , O'Kearney Emily , Milanzi Elasma , De Livera Alysha M. 

TITLE=Longitudinal Associations of the Healthy Lifestyle Index Score With Quality of Life in People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Prospective Cohort Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2018.00874

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2018.00874

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> To explore the association between combined lifestyle risk factors with quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) over 2.5 years.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> People with MS were recruited to participate in a comprehensive online survey regarding their demographic and clinical characteristics, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and lifestyle behaviors including physical activity, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, body mass index, and dietary habits measured at baseline and 2.5-year follow-up. A combined healthy lifestyle index score (HLIS) was constructed by assigning scores of 0–4 to each of the lifestyle risk factors, for which higher values indicate healthier lifestyle behavior. Multivariable linear regression modeling was used to assess whether the HLIS at baseline was associated with the physical and mental HRQOL over the study period in this sample of people with MS.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Of 2,466 participants with confirmed MS, 1,401 (57%) completed the follow-up. Multivariable linear regression analyses demonstrated that every 5-point increase (of a possible total of 20) in the baseline HLIS was associated with 1.7 (95% CI: 0.2–3.2) and 2.5 (95% CI: 1.0–4.0) higher scores in the change in physical and mental HRQOL components from baseline to follow-up respectively.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Findings suggest the importance of healthy lifestyle behavior in quality of life in MS. A healthy lifestyle program focusing on these behaviors has the potential to positively influence health-related quality of life for people with MS.</p>