Global Journal of Medical Research, L: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 22 Issue 2

scale (0-3). It has been shown to have good psychometric properties with test-retest correlations >0.90 in different studies. Moreover, it has shown satisfactory validity with agreement between BDI and psychiatrists’ ratings of 56% and has also been shown sensitive to distinguish between depression and anxiety. Moreover, factor analysis generally reveals three inter-correlated factors indicating severity of depression. Scoring of the questionnaire is as follows: 0–9 no depression, 10–15 mild, 16–23 moderate, and 24–63severe depression [21]. The BDI has been validates for MS patients too and it is proved to be applicable for the evaluation of depression in this population [22, 23] d) Statistics Statistical analysis was performed with the use of SPSS 25 Statistical package. A Wilcoxon Signed- Ranks Test was conducted in order to calculate the score differences in neuropsychological assessments before and after 1 year of therapy (intragroup comparisons). Moreover, an Independent Samples T- test was conducted to compare the means of the two groups before and after EH- EVOO’s consumption (intergroup comparisons). III. R esults At first, the differences between the two groups were calculated before the beginning of therapy, using Independent Samples T-test (Table 2). For this reason, the results of the first neuropsychological assessment of the two groups were compared in order to be insured that the two groups start from the same baseline. The results indicated that there were not statistically significant differences between the two groups and the Cohen’s d test confirmed that the sample’s size does not affect the results. Table 2: Means’ comparison between the two groups before the beginning of therapy using Independent Samples T-test Intervention group (n=20) Control group (n=10) M Sd M Sd t(30) p Cohen’s d FAB 16.00 1.806 15.00 2.494 -1.258 .219 .000459 GVLT 48.85 9.167 52.60 15.467 .837 .410 .4767 BVMT 22.85 5.373 22.00 5.249 -.411 .684 .4261 SDMT 31.70 7.540 30.00 11.785 -.481 .634 .0316 PDQ 5.15 3.746 4.90 2.601 -.189 .852 .0136 BDI 9.45 5.336 6.20 5.287 -1.577 .126 .0774 MHI 69.45 9.950 69.80 19.657 .065 .948 .0022 Significance levels: *p< .05 **p< .01 An Independent Sample T-test was, also, conducted to compare the means of the two groups after one year of EVOO’s consumption (Table 3) and there were some statistically significant results (Table 3). At first, in the FAB there was statistically significant difference between experimental group (M=17.55, Sd=0.759) and control group (M=15.30, Sd=3.164), t (30)=-3.058, p<.01. Secondly, there were differences in the two subtests of BICAMS, the BVMT and the SDMT. In the BVMT there was statistically significant difference between experimental group (M=26.35, Sd=4.056) and control group (M=20.50, Sd=5.442), t(30)=-3.321, p<.01. In the SDMT there was, also, statistically significant difference between experimental group (M=36.80, Sd=6.023) and control group (M=29.80, Sd=7.642), t(30)=-2.744, p<.05. Table 3: Means’ comparison between the two groups after one year therapy using Independent Samples T-test Intervention group Control group M Sd M Sd t(30) p Cohen’s d FAB 17.55 .759 15.30 3.164 -3.058 .005** .0978 GVLT 52.90 7.567 51.10 14.888 -.443 .661 .0152 BVMT 26.35 4.056 20.50 5.442 -3.321 .002** .1212 SDMT 36.80 6.023 29.80 7.642 -2.744 .010* .1017 PDQ 4.25 3.007 6.30 2.497 1.856 .074 .0742 BDI 6.35 3.281 8.60 8.017 1.099 .281 .0367 MHI 77.35 4.987 67.70 20.618 -2.011 .054 .0643 Significance level: *p< .05 **p< .01 48 Year 2022 Global Journal of Medical Research Volume XXII Issue II Version I ( D ) L © 2022 Global Journals The Effects of Early-Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Cognition and Mental Health of Primary (PPMS) or Secondary (SPMS) Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Patients