1. Multiple sclerosis and COVID-19: A retrospective study in Iran.
- Author
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Sedighi B, Haghdoost A, Jangipour Afshar P, Abna Z, Bahmani S, and Jafari S
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Iran epidemiology, Retrospective Studies, Vaccination adverse effects, COVID-19 epidemiology, COVID-19 prevention & control, COVID-19 Vaccines administration & dosage, Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions, Multiple Sclerosis epidemiology
- Abstract
Objectives: Previous studies suggested a higher rate of COVID-19 infection in patients with multiple sclerosis than in the general population, and limited studies addressed the impact of COVID-19 and its vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis in Iran. We decided to investigate the factors associated with COVID-19 infection, the effects and side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS)., Methods: We used the data of the patients with multiple sclerosis registered in a referral clinic in Kerman, one of the large cities in Iran (a population of 537,000 inhabitants), to explore the association between demographic variables, the history of COVID-19 vaccination, and the clinical outcomes., Results: Of the 367 participants in this study, 88.3% received the COVID-19 vaccine, 35.4% were confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the incidence of COVID-19 was much higher before vaccination (24.5% before vaccination versus 10.1% after vaccination). The multivariable logistic regression model showed that male gender (OR = 2.64, 95% confidence interval: 1.21, 5.74) and current employment (OR = 3.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.59, 5.80) were associated with an increased risk of COVID-19. The only factor associated with the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccination was the type of vaccine (AstraZeneca)., Conclusion: Our findings showed that the vaccination protected MS cases considerably against COVID-19. In addition, the side effects of the vaccines were not noticeably high in these cases as well. Among all COVID-19 vaccines, AstraZeneca had the most common side effects, so people must be aware of them before vaccination. The male gender and employment were the most important variables in the prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with multiple sclerosis in our study., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Sedighi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
- Published
- 2023
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