Psychological status of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis during coronavirus disease-2019 outbreak

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global health emergency. The aim was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological status of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Data on the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of 95 RRMS patients were collected. We used a self-designed questionnaire, the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 Instrument (MSQOL-54), Hamilton scales for the assessment of anxiety (HAM-A), and depression (HAM-D). Patients who were tested one year ago were reassessed using the same questionnaires during the COVID-19 outbreak. Group of 99 healthy individuals (HC) were tested, using the same questionnaires.

The main concerns in RRMS patients were that someone that they know could be infected with COVID-19 (78.5%), or could die due to the infection (33.8%), and the lack of specific treatment options (25.8%). The main concerns about the RRMS status were that their disease would be worse if they get infected with COVID-19 (36.4%), that they would experience some difficulties in drug availability (43.6%), that they could not go to the hospital as usual (72.4%). Results on all questionnaires were worse in RRMS patients than in HC (p<0.01). We noticed a statistically significant difference between the results obtained a year ago and the results from April 2020 in HAM-A (p<0.05).

There is an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological status of RRMS patients. Healthcare organizations need to provide professional therapeutic advice and psychosocial support for this population of patients during the pandemic.