Distress and risk perception in people living with multiple sclerosis during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: People living with MS during COVID-19 are experiencing the disruptions of the pandemic and concerns that their health status may place them at greater risk for worse COVID-19 outcomes. Objective: This study sought to understand how people living with MS in the United States experienced distress and perceived their COVID-19-related risk during the first surge of the pandemic. Methods: This was a web-based, self-report survey of people with MS who were living in the United States during the early stage of COVID-19. Primary outcomes were depression, anxiety, and positive-affect and well-being. Participants (N = 491) also provided data on demographics, MS-related factors, COVID-19 factors, and psychological coping. Results: Psychological distress was associated with age, psychological coping strategies, and having had symptoms consistent with COVID-19, but not with MS disease-related variables and COVID-19 risk factors. Perception of COVID-19-related risk was associated with age, MS disease severity, COVID-19-related factors, and anxiety. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that even during COVID-19, distress and risk perception are primarily driven by psychological factors, experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and age, with minimal contribution from individual differences in health status, providing an impetus for continued efforts to optimize psychological interventions for people living with MS.

Automated summary

This study found that even during COVID-19, psychological distress and risk perception in people with MS are primarily influenced by psychological factors, age, and experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, with minimal contribution from individual differences in health status.