We are quantitatively assessing the personal networks of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and control participants during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-sectional analysis and examining the change in the personal network of PwMS and control participants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cohort 1 – University of Pittsburgh
Cohort 2 – University of Pittsburgh
Cohort 3 – Columbia University
Cohort 4 – Columbia University
Cohort 5 – Yale University
Cohort 6 – University of Buffalo Medical Center
Cohort 7 – University of Pennsylvania
Cohort 8 – Nationwide cohort (Genes and Environment in Multiple Sclerosis)
This statistical analysis is divided into two sections: (a) cross-sectional analysis of personal networks of PwMS and control participants during the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) longitudinal comparative analysis of personal networks before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the cross-sectional analysis, we compared the personal networks of PwMS and control participants by looking at structural and compositional network variables using T-tests. To investigate the impact of personal networks on neurological disability, we examined the association between structural and compositional network variables and PROs in PwMS in covariate-adjusted regression models. The relationship between structural and compositional network variables and PROMIS Physical Function in PwMS and control participants was compared for validation.
Similar to the approach taken in the cross-sectional analysis, we examined the differences in structural and compositional network variables in PwMS and control participants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using paired T-tests. By building covariate-adjusted linear regression models, we analyzed the change in structural and compositional network variables before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the most recent PROs in PwMS. These findings were validated by comparing the change in structural and compositional network variables in relation to PROMIS Physical Function in PwMS and control participants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Download the files: PNQ_Pandemic_Deidentified, Longitudinal PNQ Two Sample and PNQ Change into your working directory. Change the working directory in the setwd() command in the R code.
R 3.6.0 was used for this analysis.
Shruthi Venkatesh
Zongqi Xia
MSReCOV Collaborative