Conscientiousness and deterioration in employment status in multiple sclerosis over 3 years

Background: Physical and cognitive symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) correlate with unemployment cross-sectionally. Prospective studies, rarely published, have not accounted for personality traits such as Conscientiousness. Methods: In a 3-year study of 70 people with MS (PwMS) and 25 healthy cont...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Multiple sclerosis 2021-06, Vol.27 (7), p.1125-1135
Main Authors: Jaworski, Michael G, Fuchs, Tom A, Dwyer, Michael G, Wojcik, Curtis, Zivadinov, Robert, Weinstock-Guttman, Bianca, Benedict, Ralph HB
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive ability
Employment
Flexible hours
Longitudinal studies
Multiple sclerosis
Rehabilitation
Spatial memory
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Summary:Background: Physical and cognitive symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) correlate with unemployment cross-sectionally. Prospective studies, rarely published, have not accounted for personality traits such as Conscientiousness. Methods: In a 3-year study of 70 people with MS (PwMS) and 25 healthy controls (HCs), we evaluated employment status using online interviews capturing hours worked, negative work events, employee relations, and accommodations. Deteriorating employment status (DES) was defined as reduced employment (full-time to part-time or negative work events). In PwMS, we explored workplace accommodations, disclosure of disease status, and physical/psychological predictors of DES (e.g. Conscientiousness). Results: At follow-up, DES was 0% in HCs and 25.7% in MS, and 62.7% of work-stable PwMS used at least one work accommodation, most frequently, flexible hours. At baseline, DES-PwMS had lower education (p = 0.009), lower Conscientiousness (p 
ISSN:1352-4585
1477-0970
DOI:10.1177/1352458520946019