Untreated and under-treated depressive symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis in an Australian context: A secondary analysis

Abstract

The lifetime prevalence of depression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is ∼50% and international studies have reported untreated and under-treated depressive symptoms in this population. Aim: We aimed to identify whether this translates to an Australian context requiring attention by Australian healthcare services. Methods: We undertook secondary analysis of two studies totalling 217 participants (Study 1: N = 107; Study 2: N = 110) with relapsing remitting or secondary progressive MS, recruited from two hospital outpatient MS clinics and via email advertisement through MS Limited. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II; Study 1), P..