Psychological impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals living with multiple sclerosis: A rapid systematic review

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis and related disorders 2022-03, Vol.59, p.103562-103562, Article 103562
• Main Authors: Zarghami, Amin, Hussain, Mohammad A., Campbell, Julie A., Ezegbe, Chigozie, van der Mei, Ingrid, Taylor, Bruce V., Claflin, Suzi B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Anxiety - epidemiology; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Depression - epidemiology; Humans; Mental health; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - complications; Multiple Sclerosis - epidemiology; Pandemics; Quality of Life; Review; SARS-CoV-2; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology
• ISSN: 2211-0348; 2211-0356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103562

•Mental health issues are common among people living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.•PwMS experienced more severe symptoms of depression and stress compared to general populations during the pandemic.•Evidence from longitudinal studies suggests that anxiety, depression and mental health dimensions of quality of life among PwMS were not considerably affected by pandemic-related restrictive measures. The global spread of COVID-19 has raised concerns about its possible impact on mental health. People living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are considered potentially vulnerable to the mental health effects of the pandemic, as they may be subject to increased social isolation. To systematically review the current evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health outcomes among PwMS. We searched four major databases (Medline, EMBASE, PsychInfo and Scopus) and the WHO Global Health COVID-19 research database. We included peer-reviewed primary research studies using validated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychometric screening tools to evaluate mental health outcomes among PwMS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies reporting data on the prevalence of mental health disorders, severity of psychological symptoms and contributing demographic and clinical factors for PwMS during the COVID-19 pandemic were included. Our initial search yielded 268 records; 19 studies (13 cross-sectional, 6 longitudinal) were included. Most were conducted during a peak in the pandemic in the host country via an online platform. The main mental health outcomes were depression, anxiety, stress, sleep quality and HRQOL. The included studies used a variety of outcome assessment tools and study designs. The prevalence of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and stress were high among PwMS during the pandemic. In addition, compared to control populations, PwMS experienced more severe symptoms of depression and stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, results from longitudinal studies demonstrate that the severity of mental health symptoms among PwMS during the pandemic were not significantly different compared with the pre-pandemic period. Although mental health issues such as anxiety and depression were common among PwMS during the pandemic, current evidence suggests that mental health among PwMS has not been significantly affected by pandemic-related restrictive measures. Instead, the observed differences may be the resu