Mental Health Status of People with Multiple Sclerosis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study assesses and compares the mental health status of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) in Poland during the second wave of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (November 2020) to a similar group whose mental health status was examined in November 2017. It also analyzed the psychological resources such as self-efficacy and health locus of control (HLC) and their relationship to mental health in both groups.

Cross-sectional study included two groups of PwMS with 113 respondents each. The respondents completed the General Health Questionnaire-12 and questionnaires for assessing self-efficacy and HLC. The clinical and demographic data of participants were also collected.

No differences in mental health status were observed between the studied groups. A hierarchical regression model of the group studied in 2020 revealed that general self-efficacy (β = -0.21, p = 0.032), HLC-internal (β = -0.21, p = 0.035), and education (β = -0.18, p = 0.048) explained 18% of the variance in the mental health of PwMS, whereas according to the model of the group assessed in 2017 self-efficacy (β = -0.31, p < 0.001), HLC-chance (β = 0.45, p < 0.001), and HLC-internal (β = -0.37, p < 0.001) explained 48% of the variance.

Study results suggest that the pandemic and the related lockdown had no effect on the mental health status of PwMS. At the same time, it was noted that well known determinants of mental health such as self-efficacy and HLC seemed to retain their prominent role for mental functioning in the pandemic.