Disability and life satisfaction in neurological disorders: The role of depression and perceived cognitive difficulties

Abstract Background This study assessed factors associated with disability and life satisfaction in a large cohort of 2246 Australian adults with neurological disorders who completed an online survey of mental health and wellbeing. It was hypothesised that depressive symptoms and perceived cognitive difficulties would be significantly associated with both outcomes, even after controlling for significant demographic/medical covariates (e.g., age, marital-status, employment, multi-morbidity, medication). Differences in profiles of four neurological subgroups (i.e., multiple sclerosis; n = 738, epilepsy; n = 672, Parkinson's disease; n = 263, and Acquired Bran Injury; n = 278) were explored. Methods Multiple hierarchical linear regressions were run using cross-sectional data. Results Depressive symptoms made a significant and large unique contribution to higher levels of disability (β = 0.333, p  Conclusions The findings underscore the importance of managing psychological/neuropsychiatric comorbidities in neurological disorders.