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.
Highlights
The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), declared by the WHO as a pandemic in March 2020, has had a profound and unprecedented impact upon health and social issues worldwide
The majority of patients (165) had relapsing-remitting Multiple sclerosis (MS), 30% could not define the type of disease
disease-modifying treatment (DMT) were used in 81.9% of patients and only symptomatic treatment—in 11.8% (Table 2)
Summary
The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), declared by the WHO as a pandemic in March 2020, has had a profound and unprecedented impact upon health and social issues worldwide. Severe restrictions (closing of educational and cultural institutions, limitations to service facilities, recommended social distance) were instituted to mitigate rapid spreading of COVID-19 disease. Healthcare settings have been undergoing massive reorganization, prioritizing management of COVID-19 and providing safety for patients and staff, which resulted in interruption or limitation to certain services. A fear of lifethreatening infection, accompanied by a rapid change in lifestyle and socio-economic problems, undoubtedly has had an adverse impact upon well-being of people throughout many countries. Cognitive and mental health problems which often occur in MS population, together with insufficient coping abilities, would make these patients more vulnerable to distress caused by the pandemic [3,4]
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