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The current study aimed at exploring the relationship between objective disability, illness perceptions, resilience, fear of COVID-19, and psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress) in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) during the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. A group of 122 pwMS recruited in an Italian university hospital took part in this cross-sectional monocentric study. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the strength of the hypothesized associations. Results indicated that, differently from cognitive impairment, motor disability was positively associated with anxiety. However, accounting for subjective illness perception, such association was no longer significant. Moreover, accounting for both protective and risk factors in the models, even illness perception was no longer significant, highlighting the central role of resilience and fear of COVID-19 in explaining the negative emotional outcomes. Implications for clinical interventions and psychoeducational trainings are discussed.

Physical disability impacts psychosocial wellbeing in people with multiple sclerosis. However, the role of physical activity in this context is still debated. By taking advantage of a previous survey, conducted online from 22 April to 7 May 2020, we performed a post-hoc analysis with the aim to assess the associations between disability, physical exercise, and mental health in multiple sclerosis. We retrieved the following data: (i) sociodemographic information, (ii) changes in lifestyle (including exercise), (iii) physical disability, as measured with the Patient-Determined Disease Steps scale, and (iv) anxiety feelings and depressive symptoms assessed via the items included in the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders measurement system. Examination of the interaction plot showed that the effect of disability on depression, but not on anxious symptoms, was significant for all levels of physical exercise (low: b = 1.22, 95% C.I. 0.85, 1.58, p &lt, 0.001, moderate: b = 0.95, 95% C.I. 0.66, 1.24, p &lt, and high: b = 0.68, 95% C.I. 0.24, 1.13, p = 0.003). Based on these data, we can conclude that disability significantly impacted depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, with physical activity playing a moderating role. Our results suggest that favoring exercise in multiple sclerosis (MS) would ameliorate psychological wellbeing regardless of the level of physical disability.

The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been extremely stressful and has produced fear and anxiety throughout the population, representing a psychological emergency. This work aimed at presenting a mental health first aid service established within an Italian university public hospital context to address four different population targets (i.e., people vulnerable to mental health problems, health-care professionals, people in isolation, and general citizenship). Specifically, the organizational structure comprising four different areas (i.e., management, clinical, communication, and research) and first data collected from the foundation of the service until 3 May 2020 are presented. Findings indicated that anxiety and fear of contagion were the main motivations prompting both the general population and health-care professionals to ask for a psychological help. Furthermore, findings indicate that clients’ current quality of life was perceived as lower than in the past but also that imagined in the future, highlighting the importance of psychological first aid interventions. This service may represent an example for helping mental health professionals in developing similar services in their local realities, promoting health and individual and community resilience.