Vienna (ots /PRNewswire) –
Covid-19 positive outpatients are at increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases compared to people who have tested negative for the virus. This is shown by a new study presented today at the 8th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN).
VIENNA, June 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – The study, which analyzed the health data of more than half of the Danish population, found that those who had tested positive for Covid-19 were at an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and had ischemic strokes.
Of the 919,731 people tested for Covid-19 as part of the study, the researchers found that the 43,375 people who tested positive had a 3.5-fold increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s, a 2.6-fold increased risk risk of Parkinson’s disease, a 2.7-fold increased risk of ischemic stroke, and a 4.8-fold increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage. While neuroinflammation may contribute to accelerated development of neurodegenerative diseases, the authors noted the implications of the scientific focus on long-term post-Covid-19 sequelae.
The study analyzed Danish inpatients and outpatients between February 2020 and November 2021, as well as influenza patients from the corresponding period before the pandemic. Researchers used statistical methods to calculate relative risk, and results were stratified by hospitalization status, age, gender, and comorbidities.
dr Pardis Zarifkar, lead author of the study from the Department of Neurology at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark, explained: “More than two years following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the precise nature and evolution of the impact of Covid-19 on neurological diseases is unknown still not characterized. Previous studies have found an association with neurological syndromes, but it is not yet known whether Covid-19 also influences the incidence of certain neurological diseases and whether it differs from other respiratory infections.”
However, the increased risk for most neurological disorders was no higher in Covid-19 positive patients than in those who had been diagnosed with the flu or other respiratory disease. Covid-19 patients had a 1.7-fold increased risk of ischemic stroke compared to influenza and bacterial pneumonia in patients over 80 years of age.
The incidence of other neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and narcolepsy did not increase following Covid-19, flu or pneumonia.
dr Pardis Zarifkar added: “These results will advance our understanding of the long-term effects of Covid-19 on the body and the role that infections play in neurodegenerative diseases and stroke.”
Press contact:
To arrange an expert interview,
get more information or references,
please contact [email protected],
+44 20 8154 6393
Original content from: EAN Congress 2022, transmitted by news aktuell
<!–table b {color:#ffffff !important;}
–>
