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Invisible symptoms have a negative impact on people living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), related to the very notion that they are “unseen.” It is important to understand the notion of “invisibility” in MS, as invisible symptoms are particularly distressing, and there is a paucity of research focussing on their invisible nature and its specific impact. We aimed to systematically identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative research regarding the notion of “invisibility” in relation to people’s lived experience of symptoms of MS.

Articles meeting inclusion criteria were critically appraised and synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach.

17 articles were identified from six electronic databases. Three third-order themes were presented as a line of argument. “Invisibility” was conceptualised by people with MS as a discrepancy between the internal experience of symptoms and what is …