Social network size and mental health outcomes in youth with neuroinflammatory disorders.

BACKGROUND: 75 % of youth with MS report symptoms of fatigue, depression, and anxiety. Social network size (number of people in an individual's network) is known to have positive impacts on health and health behavior in pediatric populations and in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate associations between social network size (SNS) and depression, anxiety, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and quality of life among youth with recurrent neuroinflammatory disorders (RNI) in comparison to that of youth with monophasic acquired demyelinating syndrome (mono-ADS).

METHODS: Youth with RNI and mono-ADS were recruited from the Pediatric Neuroinflammatory Disorders Clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children between September 2020 and August 2022. After consent, participants completed the questionnaires on social network composition, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and quality of life. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted for differences between cohorts and correlations.

RESULTS: Youth with RNI (n = 37, Female= 22, Median age= 15, IQR= 3) and mono-ADS (n = 23, Female= 12, Median age= 14, IQR= 4.5) did not differ in: SNS, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and quality of life. Larger SNS was associated with lower anxiety (rs= -0.350, p<0.05) in youth with RNI and youth with RNI who presented anxiety disorder had significantly lower number of social contacts than those who did not (t = 2.23, p = 0.033, ES= 0.90) but not in mono-ADS. When analyzing the two cohorts grouped together, all youth who screened for anxiety had significantly smaller network size than those who did not (t = 2.06, p = 0.045, ES= 0.66). This was similar with those who screened for depression (t = 2.05, p = 0.046, ES= 0.58).

CONCLUSIONS: In youth with RNI, SNS was associated with anxiety. SNS is one important aspect of social networks that have the potential to shape mental health in youth with neuroinflammatory disorders. Future studies should focus on social network composition, strength of ties, and types of support in shaping health outcomes.