Hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases have been reported worldwide, just 3 months after the first patients were identified in Wuhan, China. Just like other members of the community, MS patients are uncomfortable with the emotional distress and health anxiety caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Most MS patients receive immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory therapies. Patients taking immunosuppressive agents are theoretically at increased risk of being affected by viral pandemics, and a higher health concern is expected in this group of patients. Moreover, MS patients lose social support. Patients with increased duration of stay can no longer access physical and cognitive rehabilitation therapies. We also know that increased anxiety and sleep disorders can cause MS patients to have an attack. When literature is examined, it is known that MS patients' physical activity levels decrease, fatigue, sleep quality and anxiety levels increase, so their quality of life and participation in daily life activities decrease. MS patients lose social support during the COVID-19 outbreak. For all these reasons, we think that the fatigue, physical activity level, anxiety level and sleep disturbances affected before the COVID-19 outbreak will be further affected for these reasons.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
30
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Health Sciences,Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye)
Fatigue
Fatigue was assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). This is a 9-item questionnaire that assesses the effect of fatigue on daily living. Each item is a statement on fatigue that the subject rates from 1 "completely disagree" to 7 "completely agree". A score of 4 or higher generally indicates severe fatigue
Time frame: 4 week
Physical activity
Physical activity levels were assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ): short form. The online self-reporting questionnaire consisted of questions investigating the respondents' PA practice in terms of frequencies and durations of sitting, walking, moderate-intensity physical activities and vigorous-intensity physical activities. The MET-minutes per week (MET-min/week) were calculated using the following formula: intensity (MET) x duration x frequency. Physical activity levels were classified as physically inactive (\<600 MET-min/week), with low levels of physical activity (600-3000 MET- min/week) and physical activity level that is sufficient (\> 3000 MET-min/week)
Time frame: 4 week
Sleep quality
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire was used to measure sleep quality using an 18-item scale containing seven items that included sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep latency, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction. Each dimension scored between 0-3, with a total score ranging from 0-21, and a higher score indicating lower sleep quality.
Time frame: 4 week
Anxiety
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was composed by two subscales (i.e., anxiety and depression), with 7-items each. The anxiety part of HADS was used to evaluate the anxiety levels of the patients. Each dimension scored between 0-3, with a total score ranging from 0-21, and a higher score indicating higher anxiety level.
Time frame: 4 week
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