Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Personal Networks and Neurological Outcomes of People with Multiple Sclerosis (P12-3.001)

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

Objective:

To evaluate the associations between personal social networks and neurological function in pwMS and controls during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare with the pre-pandemic baseline.

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the social fabric of people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS).

Design/Methods:

We first analyzed data collected by MSReCOV at 8 study sites during the COVID-19 pandemic (March-December 2020). We then leveraged data collected between 2017–2019 in 3 of the 8 cohorts for longitudinal comparison. Participants completed a questionnaire quantifying the structure and composition of their personal social network, including the health behaviors of network members. We assessed neurological disability using three interrelated patient-reported outcomes: Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS), Multiple Sclerosis Rating Scale – Revised (MSRS-R), and Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-Physical Function. We identified the network features associated with neurologic disability using paired t-tests and covariate-adjusted regressions.

Results:

In the cross-sectional analysis of the pandemic data from 1130 pwMS and 1250 controls, higher percent of network members with a perceived negative health influence was associated with greater neurological symptom burden in pwMS (MSRS-R: Beta[95% CI]=2.181[1.082, 3.279], p<.001) and worse physical function in controls (PROMIS-Physical Function: Beta[95% CI]=−5.707[−7.405, −4.010], p<.001). In the longitudinal analysis of 230 pwMS and 136 controls, the percent of people contacted "weekly or less" (p<.001) decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic for both pwMS (30.34% to 18.78%) and controls (23.48% to 14.89%) when compared to the pre-pandemic period. PwMS experienced a greater contraction in network features (increased constraint, decreased size and decreased maximum degree) during the pandemic (p<.001), however, this was not associated with worsening neurological disability.

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that perceived negative health influences in personal social networks are associated with worse disability in all participants, and the COVID-19 pandemic led to contraction of personal social networks to a greater extent for pwMS than controls. Disclosure: Miss Venkatesh has received research support from Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis. Miss Venkatesh has received research support from NIH. Dr. Riley has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for Novartis. Dr. Riley has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Genentech. Dr. Riley has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Biogen Idec. Dr. Riley has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Novartis. Dr. Riley has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for EMD Serono. Dr. Riley has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for TG Therapeutics. Dr. Riley has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Janssen Global. Dr. Dhand has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant for ECHAS, LLC. Dr. Dhand has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an Expert Witness for Ultress Quinn. The institution of Dr. Dhand has received research support from NIH. Dr. Dhand has received intellectual property interests from a discovery or technology relating to health care. Ms. Doshi has nothing to disclose. Ms. Kavak has nothing to disclose. Dr. Levit has nothing to disclose. Dr. Perrone has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for EMD Serono. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant for Biogen. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for Genentech. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for Novartis . Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for EMD Serono. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Abbvie. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Genzyme & Sanofi. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Janssen . Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Bayer. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Horizon. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Genentech. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Novartis. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Biogen. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Janssen. Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Reviewer with NIH. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Genentech. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Janssen. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for TG Therapeutics. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Consultant for Biogen. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for NGM Bio. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Genentech. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Genentech. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Annals of Neurology. The institution of Dr. Longbrake has received research support from Genentech. The institution of Dr. Longbrake has received research support from Race to Erase MS. The institution of Dr. Longbrake has received research support from NINDS K23. The institution of Dr. Longbrake has received research support from Robert Patterson Leet Trust. The institution of Dr. Longbrake has received research support from Biogen. Dr. Longbrake has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Study Section Member with Department of Defense (CDMRP). Dr. De Jager has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for Biogen. Dr. De Jager has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Puretech. Dr. De Jager has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for roche. Dr. De Jager has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for biogen. The institution of Dr. De Jager has received research support from roche. The institution of Dr. De Jager has received research support from Biogen. The institution of Dr. De Jager has received research support from puretech. Dr. Xia has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for Genentech/Roche. Dr. Xia has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Neurogene. Dr. Xia has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Genentech/Roche. The institution of Dr. Xia has received research support from National Institute of Health. The institution of Dr. Xia has received research support from Octave Biosciences. The institution of Dr. Xia has received research support from Department of Defense.