Keywords

chronic health conditions, COVID-19, longitudinal research

 

Authors

  1. Becker, Heather
  2. Stuifbergen, Alexa K.
  3. Lim, Sungju
  4. Kesler, Shelli R.

Abstract

Background: Because multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease and many individuals with MS take disease-modifying drugs that suppress immune response, serious concerns have been expressed about the potential effect of COVID-19 on those with this chronic condition.

 

Objectives: The purpose of this research was to utilize the most recent 5 years of data from an ongoing longitudinal study of health promotion and quality of life (QoL) among people with long-standing MS to investigate changes across time in functional limitations, health promotion, and health-related QoL.

 

Methods: Participants are mailed an annual survey to complete about their health promotion, depressive symptoms, health status, social support, MS-related functional limitations, and QoL. Differences across time were analyzed with repeated measures of analysis of variances and planned contrasts.

 

Results: In 2021, the 141 participants had a mean age of 69 years and had been diagnosed with MS for 34 years, on average. Most had attended college, were married/partnered women, and reported adequate economic resources. Thirty-seven percent reported they were in poor to fair health. Physical activity and health responsibility scores decreased significantly during 2020-2021 compared with 2017-2019. Significant changes in depressive symptoms, social support, and functional limitation scores followed a different pattern, with the largest changes occurring between 2018 and 2019. QoL and other health promotion scores did not change significantly across time.

 

Discussion: The relatively small changes in health indicators revealed here suggest that older people with long-standing MS may have generally been able to maintain their health promotion, functional abilities, and QoL from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, nurses and other providers should support them to resume their physical activity and regular provider contact as COVID-19 restrictions are eased. The patterns observed here demonstrate the importance of examining changes across an extended period, rather than simply looking at 1 year before and 1 year after a major event, such as COVID-19. These findings can help nurses understand how to help their patients with chronic health conditions maximize their health as they move forward.