Abstract
OBJECTIVES: to investigate the impact of age, motor dysfunction and neuropsychiatric symptoms on the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis in comparison to healthy peers. METHODS: a total of 141 participants were tested in a single session. The assessments were composed by general questionnaires applied in both groups and by specific instruments restricted to multiple sclerosis. Multiple regression models were applied to assess relationships between predictors and outcome. RESULTS: age, motor dysfunction and neuropsychiatric symptoms explained 56.6% of quality of life of the multiple sclerosis group. Age and neuropsychiatric symptoms explained 36.6% of quality of life in the control group. Age impacted more the multiple sclerosis group than the control group. Neuropsychiatric symptoms affected both groups similarly. Motor dysfunction impacted 21.9% of the quality of life in multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: the predictors explained considerable variance of quality of life in multiple sclerosis, which should guide public health policies.