Impact of resilience, social support, and personality traits in patients with neuroinflammatory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the well-being of persons with neuroinflammatory diseases (pwNID). Identifying factors that influence the response to challenging conditions could guide supportive care.

METHODS

2185 pwNID and 1079 healthy controls (HCs) from five US centers completed an online survey regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and psychological well-being. Survey instruments included resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC), loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale), social support (modified social support survey, MSSS-5), personality traits (NEO-Five Factor Inventory, NEO-FFI), and disability (Patient-Determined Disability Steps (PDDS). Step-wise regression models and mediation analyses assessed whether the level of self-reported resilience, size of the social support, and specific personality traits (study predictors) were associated with self-reported disability and/or loneliness (study outcomes).

RESULTS

The response rate varied significantly between the questionnaires. While, all pwNID completed the demographic questionnaire, 78.8% completed the loneliness questionnaire and 49.7% completed the NEO-FFI. Based on 787 responses, greater neuroticism (standardized β = 0.312, p < 0.001), less social support (standardized β = -0.242, p < 0.001), lower extraversion (standardized β = -0.083, p=0.017), lower agreeableness (standardized β = -0.119, p < 0.001), and lower resilience (standardized β = -0.125, p = 0.002) were associated with the feeling of loneliness. Social support and resilience modestly but significantly mediated the association between personality traits and loneliness. Older age (standardized β = 0.165, p < 0.001) and lower conscientiousness (standardized β = -0.094, p = 0.007) were associated with worse disability (higher PDDS scores). There were no differences in outcomes between pwNID and HCs.

CONCLUSION

Greater social support potentially attenuates the association between neuroticism and the feeling of loneliness in pwNID during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessment of personality traits may identify pwNID that are in greater need of social support and guide targeted interventions.