Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic Perceived by Polish Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) were expected to be particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the burden of pandemic, perceived by Polish MS patients, with regard to major contributing factors. The survey, conducted in August/September 2020, included: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (Brief–COPE), questions on demographic data, MS characteristics, and health-related and social aspects of pandemic burden. Relationships were searched between PSS-10 and Mini-COPE results and other analyzed items, using U Mann–Whitney test, Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA rank test and Spearman rank correlation. The survey was answered by 287 MS patients (208 female, 79 male, aged 21–69 years). Since March 2020, 2.4% of respondents had been positive for COVID-19 and 5.2% had undergone a quarantine. Mean PSS-10 score was 19.99, with moderate or high level of stress in 83.3% of respondents. Problem-focused strategies were more frequently used than emotion-focused strategies (1.76 vs. 1.16). Higher PSS-10 score was associated with comorbidities (H = 4.28), increase in major MS symptoms during the pandemic (21.92 vs. 18.06), experience of healthcare limitations (21.12 vs. 17.98), work-related (22.58 vs. 18.69), financial (22.70 vs. 18.83) and family-related problems (22.54 vs. 17.73) due to pandemic restrictions. A coping model was associated with functional disability and limitations to daily activities (H = 7.81). During the first stage of the pandemic, MS patients reported increased level of stress and preferred problem-focused coping. The level of stress and coping showed more relationships with pandemic impact upon social issues than with MS-related variables.

Occupational outcomes of people with multiple sclerosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with meta-analysis

“…All studies were observational studies, being 45 (91.8%) cross-sectional studies and 4 (8.2%) longitudinal studies ( Table 1 ). Studies were done in Argentina ( 26 ), Australia ( 27–29 ), Chile ( 30 ), China ( 31 , 32 ), Cuba ( 32 ), Egypt ( 33 ), Kuwait ( 33 ), France ( 34 ), Iran ( 35–40 ), Italy ( 41–48 ), Montenegro ( 49 ), Poland ( 50 , 51 ), Portugal ( 52 ), Serbia ( 53 , 54 ), Spain ( 31 , 32 , 55 ), Turkey ( 56–58 ), and the United States of America ( 47 , 59–69 ). Most of the articles demonstrated to have reasonable methodological quality.…”

Satisfaction with Life and Coping Strategies among Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Among patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, a chronic and debilitating neurological disease, acceptance, planning and positive reframing strategies were shown to moderate the distress caused by the disease. It was suspected by the authors that a certain way of perceiving coping with the disease by patients with multiple sclerosis might be due to the fact that the main additional burden was the COVID-19 pandemic [40].…”

Coping of Chronically-Ill Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparison between Four Groups

“…According to the General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ28) and PSS-10 scores, the highest intensity of symptoms was observed in patients with MS, while the kidney transplant recipients were the least likely to report complaints [ 19 ]. Further research in the MS group revealed over 80% of participants experienced high or moderate stress levels, which was more strongly correlated with social restrictions and interactions rather than the current condition resulting from the chronic disease [ 36 ]. In this comparison of coping strategies in four groups of chronically-ill patients, we link the previous results with potential higher sensitivity in patients with MS. We hypothesize that these patients are more likely to anticipate, observe and report even less substantial changes to their condition, which may be related to the progressive character of the disease.…”