Occupational outcomes of people with multiple sclerosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with meta-analysis

• Κύριοι συγγραφείς: Bruno Kusznir Vitturi (Συγγραφέας), Alborz Rahmani (Συγγραφέας), Alfredo Montecucco (Συγγραφέας), Guglielmo Dini (Συγγραφέας), Paolo Durando (Συγγραφέας)
• Μορφή: Βιβλίο
• Έκδοση: Frontiers Media S.A., 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Θέματα: article
• Διαθέσιμο Online: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2296-2565; 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1217843
• Keywords: multiple sclerosis; demyelinating diseases; immunomodulators; occupational health; unemployment; public health; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 11 (2023)

BackgroundPeople with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) are vulnerable to unfavorable occupational outcomes and the COVID-19 pandemic brought major consequences on people's professional lives. In this view, we decided to investigate the occupational outcomes of PwMS during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe performed a systematic review with meta-analysis searching key terms in four databases. We initially included any peer-reviewed original article that enrolled adult patients with the diagnosis of MS and assessed any occupational variable during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no time limits and no language restrictions. The primary outcomes were the prevalence of unemployment, retirement and employment status change among people with MS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other outcomes included the modality and characteristics of work: type of work, full-time work, part-time work and remote work. We also searched for data from studies that addressed any change in the work status due to the COVID-19 outbreak.ResultsWe identified 49 eligible articles comprising a total sample size of 17,364 individuals with MS. The pooled prevalence of unemployment and retirement was 0.47 (95% CI = 0.42-0.53). The pooled prevalence of PwMS who were unemployed or retired was positively associated with the progressive phenotype of the disease (p = 0.017) and the use of glatiramer acetate (p = 0.004), but negatively associated with hospitalization due to COVID-19 (p = 0.008) and the use of immunosuppressants (p = 0.032), siponimod (p < 0.001), and cladribine (p = 0.021). The pooled proportion of PwMS that reported any change of the employment status during the COVID-19 pandemic was 0.43 (95% CI = 0.36-0.50) while the pooled prevalence of PwMS who worked remotely during this period was 0.37 (95% CI = 0.15-0.58). The change in employment status was negatively associated with the duration of MS (p = 0.03) but positively associated with the progressive phenotype of the disease (p < 0.001).ConclusionOur seminal review may serve as an example of how patients with neurological diseases or disabilities in general may have their jobs impacted in a pandemic and foster the context of global socio-economic crisis.