Research Information System
TURKISH JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, vol.31, no.3, 2025 (ESCI, Scopus)
Objectives: The study aimed to examine the pandemic-related attitudes and behaviors of adult individuals with neuromuscular disease during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Patients and methods: A total of 87 individuals (55 males, 32 females; mean age: 39.7 +/- 14.5 years; range, 19 to 80 years) with neuromuscular disease were included in the cross-sectional study between July 2022 and December 2022. After obtaining the demographic information of the individuals, information about neuromuscular disease and COVID-19, vaccination status, and their situation during the pandemic were questioned with yes/no or open-ended questions.
Results: While the most prevalent neuromuscular disease was spinal muscular atrophy (n=30, 34.5%), 72 (82.8%) individuals had no comorbities. Twenty-nine (33.3%) individuals had COVID-19, and seven (24.1%) of these individuals had COVID-19 with high severity. Eighty-two (94.3%) individuals were vaccinated. Among the individuals who had COVID-19, 10 (34.5%) individuals stated that their physical condition was worse than before the pandemic. Among the whole participants, 40 (48.3%) individuals stated that it was worse and much worse. Only 15 (17.2%) individuals continued to participate in physical therapy practices during the pandemic period. Forty-three (49.4%) individuals said that their social life was worse and much worse than before the pandemic.
Conclusion: The course of COVID-19 in individuals with neuromuscular disorders may not be as severe as expected. Further studies are needed to generalize these findings to the broader neuromuscular disease population.