Risk of COVID-19 not increased in MS patients

Results of the largest community-based study of COVID-19 in MS worldwide suggest that people with MS are not more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection than the UK general population [1]. During lockdown, with strict physical distancing measures, disease-modifying treatment (DMT) use or physical disability did not increase the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 nor affected recovery from COVID-19. Participants of the United Kingdom MS Register (UKMSR) were asked to answer a COVID-19-related survey at admission and a follow-up survey every 2 weeks, depending on whether they reported COVID-19. The mean age of the 5,309 participants was 52.4 years, 76.1% were female. The overall incidence of self-diagnosed COVID-19 in this cohort was 535 (10.1%). In a time when testing facilities were still very limited, 75 of these 535 COVID-19 cases were confirmed by RT-PCR test. The COVID-19 incidence in this cohort peaked during the second week after lockdown started on 23 ...

Please login to read the full text of the article.

If you have no account yet, please register now.

Posted on 25 November, 2020