The impact of COVID-19 on community integration, quality of life, depression and anxiety in people with chronic spinal cord injury

This study looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people with chronic spinal cord injuries (SCI). The researchers compared how people with SCI felt about their community involvement, quality of life, and levels of anxiety and depression before and during the pandemic. The study found that during the pandemic, people with SCI reported feeling less socially integrated and more depressed. Interestingly, younger participants (19-54 years old) reported a decrease in their physical and psychological well-being, while older participants (55-88 years old) did not report the same. These findings suggest that the pandemic had a negative impact on the mental health and social lives of people with SCI, and that younger adults with SCI may have been more vulnerable to these effects.

• 1
  Participants reported significantly decreased Social Integration during COVID-19 compared to pre-pandemic scores.
• 2
  Depression (measured using HADS) was significantly higher than before COVID-19.
• 3
  Participants in the 19–54 group during COVID-19 were significantly lower than before COVID-19 in the Physical and Psychological dimensions of the WHOQOL-BREF.