Coping, social support, and anxiety in people with Mast Cell Disorders

BACKGROUND : Mast cell disorders (MCDs) are rare, chronic, debilitating diseases with a varied and complex clinical trajectory that creates challenges to physical and mental health. Reliable estimates of the prevalence of anxiety in this population are largely nonexistent. Furthermore, very little is known about how sufferers’ coping efforts affect their emotions and adjustment. Because a person with a MCD cannot eliminate the stressors associated with their chronic illness, it is important to understand what helps them adjust. OBJECTIVE: To document the magnitude of anxiety in MCD sufferers, their physical symptoms, levels of social support, and ways of coping with the stress of the disease, and examine the extent to which symptoms, social support, and coping are associated with anxiety. METHODS: Individuals with a mast cell disorder completed an anonymous Internet-based survey (N=157). RESULTS: More than half of individuals with mast cell disorders in this study found their illness to be very stressful and nearly a third were experiencing moderate levels of anxiety. Participants who had more frequent and severe physical symptoms reported higher levels of anxiety. Those who reported coping with their problems by using planning strategies and those who felt they had more social support available to them were less anxious; those who used more avoidant strategies to cope were more anxious. CONCLUSION: Based on the current results, and intervention work in other chronic illness groups, it seems likely that coping behaviors are a fruitful target of intervention for patients with a MCD to reduce their emotional distress.