OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of overall, between- and within-day subjectively rated fluctuations in motor and non-motor symptoms in people with functional motor disorder (FMD) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). BACKGROUND: FMD is a complex condition characterized by fluctuating motor and non-motor symptoms that may negatively impact HRQoL. METHODS: Seventy-seven patients (54 females, mean age 45.4 ± 10.4 years) with a clinically established diagnosis of FMD, including weakness, completed symptom diaries, rating the severity of motor and non-motor symptoms (i.e., pain, fatigue, mood, cognitive difficulties) on a 10-point numerical scale three times daily for seven consecutive days. HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. For the analysis, fluctuation magnitude was defined in terms of the variability in self-reported symptom scores. RESULTS: The mental component of SF-36 was jointly predicted by the overall severity scores (t(74) = -3.61, P < 0.001) and overall general fluctuations (t(74) = -2.98, P = 0.004). The physical SF-36 was found to be related only to the overall symptom severity scores (t(74) = -7.09, P < 0.001), but not to the overall fluctuations. The assessment of the impact of different components showed that the mental component of SF-36 was significantly influenced by the combined effect of average fatigue (t(73) = -3.86, P < 0.001), between-day cognitive symptoms fluctuations (t(73) = -3.22, P = 0.002), and within-day mood fluctuations (t(73) = -2.48, P = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the impact of self-reported symptom fluctuations across multiple motor and non-motor domains on mental but not physical HRQoL in FMD and highlighted the importance of assessing and managing fluctuations in clinical practice.

Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Prague Czech Republic; Department of Cybernetics Faculty of Electrical Engineering Czech Technical University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Prague Czech Republic; Department of Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University and University Hospital Motol Prague Czech Republic

King's College London Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience London United Kingdom

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