How can being in poor health affect my multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis?

Recent research sponsored by the Consortium of MS Centers, National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies, showed being in poor health complicated getting an MS diagnosis. It found that people who had pre-existing health problems, such as mental illness or obesity, experienced a delay of anywhere from one to 10 years in being diagnosed with MS. The study, which looked at the medical records of 8,983 people, found the more medical problems a person had, the more progressed their MS was at the time of diagnosis.