Article

Domestic accidents are widespread, but no data are available on their
occurrence in pathological populations such as patients with multiple sclerosis
(MS). Aim was to investigate domestic habits and occurrence of different types of
domestic accidents and near falls in a sample of MS patients compared with
healthy controls and to determine whether patients' domestic accidents are linked
to any disease characteristics. METHOD: Descriptive survey of 50 patients and 50
healthy controls. Participants were administered an ad-hoc questionnaire to
collect data on domestic habits and accidents they had in the past 2 months.
Their physical and neuropsychological functioning, mood and fatigue were also
assessed. RESULTS: Results showed that patients spend most of their time at home
with caregivers. No differences emerged for total number of domestic accident
types, but there were differences in bumps and near falls. The latter seem to be
linked to patients' walking ability and to bowel/bladder functioning and the
former to reasoning ability and fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the
first data on the occurrence of domestic accidents and possible causes in MS
patients. It encourages further studies on the topic, with the final goal of
designing preventive and rehabilitation strategies.

Langue : ANGLAIS