Individuals with pre-existing neurological diseases not prone to develop Long-COVID

The study, utilizing the TrinetX Research Database—a robust repository of medical records—analyzed data from 388,297 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases. Among these, 2204 individuals had a prior diagnosis of MS, SCI, or TBI. They were matched against COVID-19-positive individuals without these diagnoses to assess various health outcomes.

The findings of the study were:

• Acute Infection Severity: Individuals with TBI, MS, or SCI were notably more likely to be hospitalized for acute COVID-19 compared to their matched counterparts. Specifically, they exhibited a 22% higher likelihood of hospitalization for COVID-19.

• Post-COVID Sequelae: While these conditions didn’t correlate with increased mortality risk, they were associated with significant post-acute COVID-19 symptoms. Individuals with TBI, MS, or SCI were more prone to experiencing new weakness, mobility difficulties, and cognitive dysfunction following their COVID-19 diagnosis.

• Pre-existing Diagnoses Distribution: 51.3% had TBI, 31.4% had MS, and 17.3% had SCI among the COVID-19-positive individuals with these specific pre-existing conditions.

• Hospitalization Odds Ratio: Individuals with TBI, MS, or SCI exhibited a 22% higher likelihood of hospitalization for COVID-19 compared to matched controls.

• Post-acute COVID-19 Symptoms Odds Ratio: Those with these conditions were notably more likely to experience new weakness (54% increased odds), mobility difficulties (66% increased odds), and cognitive dysfunction (79% increased odds) compared to controls.

The study reveals that individuals with a history of MS, SCI, or TBI faced an increased risk of hospitalization due to acute COVID-19. Although their mortality risk wasn’t higher, concerns were raised about the significant post-acute COVID-19 symptoms experienced by these groups. This highlights the potential widening of health disparities in individuals with such disabling conditions after COVID-19 infection.

Reference:

Abramoff, B. A., Hentschel, C., Dillingham, I. A., Dillingham, T., Baraniecki-Zwil, G., Williams, A., & Pezzin, L. E. The association of multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury to acute and long COVID‐19 outcomes. PM & R: The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation,2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.13121