Association of COVID-19 with neurodegenerative and neurological disorders in vaccinated and unvaccinated people

In 18.3 million adults in England, COVID-19 is linked to higher incidence of cognitive impairment and dementia, with the strongest early risk in unvaccinated people.

• Why it matters: Long-term effects of COVID-19 on neurodegenerative and neurological disorders are still unclear, especially by vaccination status and in routine healthcare data.
• What they did: Using OpenSAFELY-TPP linked records, the study followed cohorts with up to 5.5 years: pre-vaccination (Jan 2020–Jun 2021) and vaccinated vs unvaccinated (Jun–Dec 2021), estimating adjusted hazard ratios after COVID-19 diagnosis.
• The result: Incidence stayed elevated up to 4 years, particularly after hospitalisation: cognitive impairment/dementia aHRs were 1.55 (1.11–2.16)/1.48 (1.00–2.20) in unvaccinated and 1.27 (1.04–1.54)/1.32 (1.02–1.71) in vaccinated.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.