Pre-existing anxiety, depression, and neurological disability are associated with long COVID: A prospective and longitudinal cohort study of the United Kingdom Multiple Sclerosis Register

Garjani, A.; Middleton, R. M.; Nicholas, R.; Evangelou, N.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of and factors associated with developing long COVID among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a condition which shares the neurological and psychological symptomatology of long COVID Design: Community-based prospective and longitudinal observational study Setting: The United Kingdom (UK) MS Register (UKMSR) COVID-19 study Participants: A national cohort of MS patients with COVID-19 Main outcome measures: Participants used the online questionnaire-based platform of the UKMSR to update their COVID-19 symptoms and recovery status. Questionnaires were date-stamped for estimation of COVID-19 symptom duration. The UKMSR also holds demographic and up-to-date clinical data on participants including comorbidities, MS type, date of MS diagnosis, disease-modifying therapies, web-based Expanded Disability Status Scale scores (a measure of physical disability in MS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The association between these factors and recovery from COVID-19 was assessed using multivariable Cox regression analysis. Results: Out of 7,977 MS patients who participated in the UKMSR COVID-19 study, 599 had COVID-19 and updated their recovery status prospectively. At least 181 participants (31.1%) had long-standing COVID-19 symptoms for [≥]4 weeks and 76 (13.1 %) for [≥]12 weeks. Participants with higher levels of pre-COVID-19 physical disability, participants with anxiety and/or depression prior to COVID-19 onset, and women were less likely to recover from COVID-19. Conclusions: Long COVID appears to affect patients with a pre-existing chronic condition, especially those with physical disabilities or mental health problems disproportionately when compared to reports in the general population. Long COVID research and the development of post-COVID-19 rehabilitation services need to be inclusive of these at-risk populations. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04354519