Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, individuals especially those with chronic diseases face various problems like psychological distress.
Aim: To evaluate anxiety and depression among morphea patients taking immunosuppressants compared with controls during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: In this case-control study, electronic data of 42 eligible morphea patients and 42 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were extracted. All participants were asked about adherence to the health protocols and the symptoms of COVID-19. To investigate anxiety and depression, we provided the participants with an online version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) Questionnaire. In this standard questionnaire, a score ≥ 11 represents a significant psychological disorder.
Results: The two groups did not differ significantly in the mean HADS-Anxiety (HADS-A) and HADS-Depression (HADS-D) scores (p= .08 and p= .79, respectively). HADS-A and HADS-D scores were ≥ 11 in 16.67% and 11.90% of the patients, respectively. Among the morphea patients, those with sleeping problems during COVID-19 had a significantly higher mean HADS-D score (p= .048). Notably, 21.43% of patients discontinued their treatment due to fear of COVID-19 and experienced disease recurrence. Adherence to health protocols was higher in patients compared with controls. The rate of COVID-19 occurrence was not significantly different between the groups.
Conclusions: Although there was no significant difference in anxiety and depression between the groups, it is recommended to provide psychiatric counseling opportunities to morphea patients to improve treatment outcomes during this pandemic.
Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus disease 2019; depression; immunosuppressive treatment.