Proceedings of the 25th BCTRIMS Annual Meeting

Introduction: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune demyelinating neurological disease. Cognitive disorders are common in people with MS, and these disorders affect daily activities, professional outcomes, and quality of life. Objective: To analyze the correlation between cognitive decline and social indices. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, and retrospective study aimed to identify the correlation of cognitive decline and social factors such as: Longevity, education, income, urban infrastructure, human capital, and income/employment. Municipalities in Ceará were adopted as units of analysis, with indicators calculated from demographic census variables. Psychometric data collection utilized the BICAMS battery. Results: 70 patients were evaluated (49 RRMS; 4 PPMS; 9 SPMS), with females (n=48) and males (n=21). The median age was 40.20 (range: 15-68 years). 83% had more than twelve years of education (n=58). The mean EDSS was 2.6. High-efficiency medication was used by 49 patients, and platform drugs were used by 20. 40 patients used psychotropic medication. 42 patients lived in the capital and 27 in rural areas. All municipalities where patients reside had an average HDI of 0.71, considered medium (between 0.500 and 0.799). The final SVI was also medium (between 0.300 and 0.400), except in the Work and Income Dimension, where the capital's value is considered low 0.283 (n=42). 23 patients showed decline in Visual Memory (mean scoreZ= -3.35), 35 patients in Auditory Verbal Episodic Memory (mean scoreZ= -1.4), and 18 patients in Information Processing Speed (mean scoreZ= -0.62). Conclusion: No correlation was observed between Human Development, Urban Infrastructure, and Human Capital and patients with cognitive decline in MS. However, factors such as Economy, Low Income, and Unemployment seem to be related to less favorable cognitive outcomes.