The group is very pleased to announce the publication of the first results from the CONTAIN study.
CONTAIN was a mixed-methods study looking at the effects of last year’s lockdown periods on people who had previously engaged with our research who had specific musculoskeletal symptoms or conditions. The study sought to quantify quality of life, disease-specific indicators, health, and lifestyle both before and during the COVID-19 lockdown.
We invited participants from three previous studies to complete a short questionnaire (including questions specific to their condition) between July and December 2020.These were people with axial spondyloarthritis (BSRBR-AS), psoriatic arthritis (BSR-PsA) and those identified as at high risk of developing chronic widespread pain (MAmMOTH).Participants were asked questions about themselves, their condition, and how their lives had been affected by COVID-19 and the public health restrictions in place during that period.
Overall, 1054 people took part in the study (596 from BSRBR-AS, 162 from BSR-PsA, and 296 from MAmMOTH). When compared with their last pre-pandemic assessment, we found that there was a small, but significant, decrease in reported quality of life, primarily related to pain and poorer mental health. We also found a small increase in fibromyalgia symptoms across the cohorts, but interestingly people also reported fewer sleep problems.
For those with axial spondyloarthritis we found a small deterioration in disease activity, while for those with psoriatic arthritis we found a small reduction in disease-specific quality of life and an increase in reported anxiety symptoms. Predictors of poor quality of life were found to be similar before and during the pandemic. We also found that the effect of lockdown on levels of activity different according to age, gender and deprivation.
While the magnitude of changes shown by the study are small, we can take important lessons from these results, including the need to provide enhanced support for self-management in relation to anxiety and pain. The study also highlights an awareness that all population groups can be affected by these changes.
You can read the full paper here.