Fear of COVID-19, problems accessing medical appointments, and subjective experience of disease progression, predict anxiety and depression reactions in patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background During the current COVID-19 pandemic there are studies that have suggested a negative impact of the pandemic on the mental health of patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). In this sense, several factors may be related to the increase in experiences of anxiety and depression in PwMS during the current pandemic. Objective In this study we first explored the reactions of anxiety, depression and fear to COVID-19 in a group of PwMS that belong to the Ibero-American region. Besides, we explored whether having been positive to COVID-19, fear of COVID-19, the obstacles to attend medical appointments during the outbreak and subjective experience of MS progression, could predict the anxiety and depression reactions in our PwMS sample. Materials and methods : An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on 202 MS patients from six countries (Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Cuba). For comparisons between variables an independent-samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the effects of potential predictor variables over emotional reactions. Results Our results showed that PwMS who were positive for COVID-19 reported higher levels of fear of COVID-19 (p<.001) and also higher levels of anxiety (p<.001) compared to non-positive patients. Those patients who had difficulties attending their medical appointments during the outbreak showed higher levels of depression (p=.03) and anxiety (p=.019). Levels of anxiety (p<.001) and depression (p=.006) were also higher among patients with the subjective experience of MS disease progression. The reactions of fear of COVID-19, having been positive to COVID-19, problems attending medical appointments, and subjective experience of MS disease progression showed a high association with the negative impact of the pandemic on mental health of PwMS. Conclusions Our results show that the situation generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of PwMS in our sample. Our results also alert to the importance of offering psychological care to patients with multiple sclerosis during the current outbreak, regardless of whether they have been positive for COVID-19.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical therapy practice for people with multiple sclerosis: A multicenter survey study of the RIMS network

“…We speculate that this increase is due to higher stress rates of pwMS during this COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2021, studies reporting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental load of pwMS have significantly increased ( Giordano et al., 2021 , Broche-Pérez et al., 2021 , Garjani et al., 2021 , Artemiadis, Anagnostouli, and Alexopoulos, 2011 ). The high prevalence of stress amongst pwMS is especially worrying since recent studies have demonstrated a linear relationship between increased stress and more disease activity ( Bonavita et al., 2021 , Taylor and Taylor-Piliae, 2017 ).…”

SARS-CoV-2 infection in multiple sclerosis patients: interaction with treatments, adjuvant therapies, and vaccines against COVID-19

“…PwMS, especially those with severe forms of the disease, are generally more prone to infections [ 16 , 20 ]. The pandemic has also had a negative impact on the mental health of pwMS [ 21 ], since the fear of get the disease [ 22 ], home confinement [ 23 ], and social distancing have caused an increase in levels of anxiety and depression in these patients [ 21 ]. A study conducted by Ramezani et al, 2021 in 410 pwMS from Iran, reported that in the first wave, the prevalence of anxiety and depression in these patients was 31.2% and 39.3%, respectively [ 24 ].…”

Predicting Multiple Sclerosis Outcomes During the COVID-19 Stay-at-home Period: Observational Study Using Passively Sensed Behaviors and Digital Phenotyping

“…Further, people with MS have greater COVID-19 risk due to certain immune disease-modifying therapies as well as their physical disability, and many have experienced drastic change in their neurological care due to the pandemic [ 21 ]. Concerns for COVID-19, coupled with decreased social support and health care access during the pandemic, have contributed to even higher stress and depression in people with MS [ 10 , 22 - 24 ].…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing response (eg, lockdown and social distancing) have broad negative impacts on physical and mental health worldwide [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. The effect is more pronounced for people with chronic neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) [8][9][10]. People with MS have a significantly higher burden of mental health comorbidities than the general population.…”