Evaluation of coping in adolescents with autoimmune demyelinating disease

Autoimmune demyelinating diseases are a group of degenerative and progressive chronic diseases that occur as a result of damage to myelin in the nervous system for various reasons. Being diagnosed with a chronic disease in children and adolescence, combined with the problems that come with adolescence, can be a difficult process for patients to cope with. Coping with chronic diseases in this period may lead to emotional difficulties and an increase in depression and anxiety levels. In this study, we aimed to determine the stress coping styles of adolescents diagnosed with autoimmune demyelinating diseases and to investigate the relationship between coping strategies and depression and anxiety. The study population consisted of 33 cases of multiple sclerosis, 6 cases of transverse myelitis, 11 cases of optic neuritis, 1 case of neuromyelitis optica and 2 cases of clinically isolated syndrome, aged 14-19 years, diagnosed and followed up in ADU Department of Pediatric Neurology. We administered a personal information form including demographic data, personal and disease information, the Coping Scale for Children and Youth (CSCY), The Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) and the Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). In our study, we found that the cognitive and behavioral avoidance sub-dimensions and CES-DC scores of the subjects with a follow-up period of 2 years or less after diagnosis were significantly lower than the subjects with a follow-up period of more than 2 years, while the problem solving and help seeking sub-dimensions and PARS total scores were significantly higher (p<0.05). We found that the cognitive and behavioral avoidance sub-dimensions and CES-DC total scores of the cases with an attack number of 2 or less were significantly lower than the cases with an attack number above 2, and the problem solving and help seeking sub-dimensions and PARS total scores were significantly higher than the cases with an attack number above 2 (p<0.05). Our study showed that as the follow-up period of the diagnosis prolonged and the number of attacks increased, the subjects tended to avoidance behaviors from coping strategies and their depression levels increased. It showed that anxiety levels were higher in the newly diagnosed period. In this sense, we think that the use of active functional coping methods in adolescents with autoimmune demyelinating disease may be associated with a better state of mind. Detailed information about the disease process should be provided to the patients in order to prevent anxiety during the newly diagnosed period and depressive symptoms that may develop in the future. Receiving psychiatric support is important for adolescents with chronic diseases in terms of increasing the use of functional coping strategies and decreasing depression and anxiety levels.