COVID-19 pandemic impacted physical, mental health of 40% of rheumatic disease patients
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Approximately 40% of patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease report adverse physical and mental impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data published in Clinical Rheumatology.
“Much was made in the press about the short-term impacts of the pandemic on physical and mental health, and we wanted to see whether the pandemic impacts were similar for people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) and whether the impacts remained in the longer term,” Samantha Hider, MSc, PhD, a professor of rheumatology at the Keele University School of Medicine, in the United Kingdom, told Healio.
To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental and physical well-being of patients with IRDs, Hider and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional survey. The researchers identified potential survey participants within the Diagnostic and Monitoring Database (DIAMOND). To be eligible for participation, patients were required to be under active follow-up care and have a confirmed diagnosis of one of the four most common IRDs, defined as rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthropathy, psoriatic arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
The researchers invited 2,024 patients to participate in the August 2021 survey, in which they were asked to self-report age, gender, their diagnosed IRD and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental and physical health. Arthritis assessment was conducted using the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire, and patients were asked about the state of their symptoms compared to the time before the pandemic.
Mental health symptoms, meanwhile, were evaluated using Patient Health Questionnaire-8 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. In addition, patients reported their loneliness score and the impact of the pandemic on various lifestyle factors including alcohol and tobacco consumption, weight and physical exercise.
A total of 639 patients responded to and completed the survey. In all, 250 patients (41%) reported moderate or severe impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on physical health, while 241 (39%) reported moderate or severe impacts on mental health. Additionally, 172 patients (29%) reported demonstrating moderate or severe depression, and 135 (22%) reported moderate or severe anxiety.
Overall, female respondents reported greater impacts on physical and mental health — 44% vs. 34% for both — as well as arthritis symptoms — 49% vs. 36% — and lifestyle factors — such as weight gain and reduced exercise — than male respondents, according to the researchers. Finally, younger patients were more likely to report greater impacts on mental health.
“The impact of the pandemic appeared greater in women than men,” Hider said. “Negative lifestyle impacts, such as reduced physical activity and increased weight, remained in the long term. Clinicians may want to address lifestyle and physical activity with patients and consider asking about mental health to be able to signpost people to appropriate sources of advice and support.”
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts