1. Chronic Neurological Disorders and Predisposition to Severe COVID-19 in Pediatric Patients in the United States.
- Author
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Chi M, Heutlinger O, Heffernan C, Sanger T, Marano R, Feaster W, Taraman S, and Ehwerhemuepha L
- Subjects
- Humans, United States epidemiology, Child, Adolescent, Case-Control Studies, Retrospective Studies, SARS-CoV-2, Disease Susceptibility, Chronic Disease, COVID-19 epidemiology, Nervous System Diseases epidemiology, Movement Disorders
- Abstract
Background: We investigated the association between chronic pediatric neurological conditions and the severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)., Methods: This matched retrospective case-control study includes patients (n = 71,656) with chronic complex neurological disorders under 18 years of age, with laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 or a diagnostic code indicating infection or exposure to SARS-CoV-2, from 103 health systems in the United States. The primary outcome was the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was classified as severe (invasive oxygen therapy or death), moderate (noninvasive oxygen therapy), or mild/asymptomatic (no oxygen therapy). A cumulative link mixed effects model was used for this study., Results: In this study, a cumulative link mixed effects model (random intercepts for health systems and patients) showed that the following classes of chronic neurological disorders were associated with higher odds of severe COVID-19: muscular dystrophies and myopathies (OR = 3.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.73 to 3.84), chronic central nervous system disorders (OR = 2.82; 95% CI: 2.67 to 2.97), cerebral palsy (OR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.85 to 2.10), congenital neurological disorders (OR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.75 to 1.96), epilepsy (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.26 to 1.44), and intellectual developmental disorders (OR = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.003 to 1.19). Movement disorders were associated with lower odds of severe COVID-19 (OR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.81 to 0.99)., Conclusions: Pediatric patients with chronic neurological disorders are at higher odds of severe COVID-19. Movement disorders were associated with lower odds of severe COVID-19., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2023
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