Social consequence of having MS: divorce

Pfleger et al. Social consequences of multiple sclerosis. Part 2. Divorce and separation: a historical prospective cohort study. Mult Scler. 2010 Jul;16(7):878-82.

"MS not only causes disability and suffering in the person with the disease; it also has a heavy toll on relationships. Anyone working with MS'ers knows this already from personal experience!"

BACKGROUND: There is a need for follow-up studies of the familial situation of MS'ers.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the probability of MS'ers to remain in marriage or relationship with the same partner after onset of MS in comparison with the population.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: All 2538 Danes with onset of MS 1980-1989, retrieved from the Danish MS-Registry, and 50,760 matched and randomly drawn control persons were included. Information on family status was retrieved from Statistics Denmark. 

RESULTS: Five years after onset, the cumulative probability of remaining in the same relationship was 86% in MS'ers vs. 89% in controls. The probabilities continued to deviate, and at 24 years, the probability was 33% in MS'ers vs. 53% in the control persons (p < 0.001). Among MS'ers with young onset (< 36 years of age), those with no children had a higher risk of divorce than those having children less than 7 years (Hazard Ratio 1.51; p < 0.0001), and men had a higher risk of divorce than women (Hazard Ratio 1.33; p < 0.01).


CONCLUSION: MS significantly affects the probability of remaining in the same relationship compared with the background population.

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