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Finsel J, Rosenbohm A, Peter RS, Bäzner H, Börtlein A, Dempewolf S, Schabet M, Hecht M, Kohler A, Opherk C, Nägele A, Sommer N, Lindner A, Rothenbacher D, Ludolph AC, Nagel G, Lulé DE. Coping as a resource to allow for psychosocial adjustment in fatal disease: results from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1361767. [PMID: 38638511 PMCID: PMC11024296 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1361767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder, which imposes a severe emotional burden on patients. Appropriate coping mechanisms may alleviate this burden and facilitate wellbeing, with social support known to be a successful coping strategy. This observational study aimed to determine the interplay of general coping traits of hope for success and fear of failure, coping behavior of social activity, and patients' wellbeing. Methods In this cross-sectional study, patients with ALS from a clinical-epidemiological registry in Southwestern Germany were interviewed regarding coping traits (achievement-motivated behavior: hope for success and fear of failure), coping behavior of social activity, and psychosocial adjustment, determined using measures of depressiveness, anxiety [both measured by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)], and quality of life [Anamnestic Comparative Self-Assessment (ACSA)]. Demographics, clinical [ALS Functional Rating Scale revised version (ALSFRS-R)], and survival data were recorded. Results A total of 868 patients [60.70% male patients, mean age: 64.70 (±10.83) years, mean ALSFRS-R: 37.36 ± 7.07] were interviewed. Anxiety in patients was found to be associated with a high fear of failure. In contrast, a generally positive attitude in patients exemplified in high hopes for success was associated with better wellbeing. Finally, coping behavior of social activity explained up to 65% of the variance of depressiveness among the patients with ALS. Conclusion In this study, we present evidence that the wellbeing of patients with ALS is not an immediate fatalistic consequence of physical degradation but rather determined by coping traits and behavior, which may be trained to substantially increase the wellbeing of patients with ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Finsel
- Department of Neurology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | | | - Raphael S. Peter
- Institute for Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Hansjörg Bäzner
- Department of Neurology, Katharinenhospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Axel Börtlein
- Department of Neurology, Katharinenhospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Silke Dempewolf
- Department of Neurology, RKH Klinikum Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg, Germany
| | - Martin Schabet
- Department of Neurology, RKH Klinikum Ludwigsburg, Ludwigsburg, Germany
| | - Martin Hecht
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum Kaufbeuren, Kliniken Oberallgäu-Kaufbeuren, Kaufbeuren, Germany
| | - Andreas Kohler
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum am Gesundbrunnen Heilbronn, Heilbronn, Germany
| | - Christian Opherk
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum am Gesundbrunnen Heilbronn, Heilbronn, Germany
| | - Andrea Nägele
- Department of Neurology, Christophsbad Göppingen, Göppingen, Germany
| | - Norbert Sommer
- Department of Neurology, Christophsbad Göppingen, Göppingen, Germany
| | - Alfred Lindner
- Department of Neurology, Marienhospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | | | - Albert C. Ludolph
- Department of Neurology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Ulm Site, Ulm, Germany
| | - Gabriele Nagel
- Institute for Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
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Vinceti G, Carbone C, Gallingani C, Fiondella L, Salemme S, Zucchi E, Martinelli I, Gianferrari G, Tondelli M, Mandrioli J, Chiari A, Zamboni G. The association between lifelong personality and clinical phenotype in the FTD-ALS spectrum. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1248622. [PMID: 37859765 PMCID: PMC10582748 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1248622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are two phenotypes of the same neurodegenerative disease, the FTD-ALS spectrum. What determines the development of one rather than the other phenotype is still unknown. Based on the clinical observation that patients' personality seems to differ between the two phenotypes, i.e., ALS patients tend to display kind, prosocial behaviors whereas FTD patients tend to present anti-social behaviors, and that these traits are often reported as pre-existing the disease onset by caregivers, we set up to study experimentally patients' personality in their premorbid life. Methods We first tested for differences between groups, then tested the association between premorbid personality and current functional organization of the brain. Premorbid personality of a cohort of forty patients, 27 FTD and 13 ALS, was explored through the NEO Personality Inventory 3 (NEO-PI-3), which analyses the five main personality factors, completed by the caregiver with reference to patient's personality 20 years before symptoms onset (premorbid). A subgroup of patients underwent a brain MRI including structural and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI). Results A significant difference between FTD and ALS in premorbid personality emerged in the Openness (133.92 FTD vs. 149.84 ALS, p = 0.01) and Extraversion (136.55 FTD vs. 150.53 ALS, p = 0.04) factors. This suggests that ALS patients had been, in their premorbid life, more open to new experiences, more sociable and optimistic than FTD patients. They also showed greater functional connectivity than both FTD and a control group in the Salience resting state network, over and above differences in gray matter atrophy. Finally, there was a positive correlation between premorbid Openness and functional connectivity in the Salience network across all patients, suggesting a possible association between premorbid personality and current functional organization of the brain, irrespective of the degree of atrophy. Discussion Our proof-of-concept results suggest that premorbid personality may eventually predispose to the development of one, rather than the other, phenotype in the FTD-ALS spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Vinceti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Chiara Carbone
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Chiara Gallingani
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Luigi Fiondella
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Simone Salemme
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Zucchi
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Ilaria Martinelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Giulia Gianferrari
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Manuela Tondelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Department of Primary Care, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Jessica Mandrioli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Annalisa Chiari
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Giovanna Zamboni
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Neurology Unit, Ospedale Civile Baggiovara, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
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Parkin Kullmann JA, Hayes S, Pamphlett R. Are people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) particularly nice? An international online case-control study of the Big Five personality factors. Brain Behav 2018; 8:e01119. [PMID: 30239176 PMCID: PMC6192405 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many people with ALS have been suggested to have a "nice" personality, but most ALS personality studies to date have had limited numbers of participants and have not taken into account personality differences between genders. We used Big Five Inventory data obtained from an online questionnaire looking for risk factors for ALS to investigate personality traits in large numbers of people with ALS and controls. METHODS A total of 741 questionnaire respondents aged 40 years and over indicated the extent to which they agreed with each of the 44 Big Five Inventory statements. Respondents were 339 with ALS (212 male, 127 female) who responded to the statements as they applied to them before their diagnosis and 402 controls (120 male, 282 female). Unpaired t tests with 95% confidence intervals were used to compare mean values of Big Five-factor scores. RESULTS Female respondents taken together had higher mean scores for Agreeableness and Neuroticism than all male respondents. Male ALS respondents had higher mean scores than male controls for Conscientiousness and Extraversion. Female ALS respondents had higher mean scores than female controls for Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion, and a lower score for Neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS Many people with ALS have personality traits that are likely to underlie the perception they are particularly "nice." This raises the possibility that genetic polymorphisms that influence personality could play a role in ALS. Furthermore, different personality traits could underlie lifestyle choices that are currently thought to be risk factors for ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane A Parkin Kullmann
- The Stacey Motor Neuron Disease Laboratory, Discipline of Pathology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Susan Hayes
- Forensic Psychology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Roger Pamphlett
- The Stacey Motor Neuron Disease Laboratory, Discipline of Pathology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Department of Neuropathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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