Younger age, presence of comorbidities, and being female have been identified as the factors tied to an increased risk for COVID-19 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), in a new case-control study published in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation.

The study included 2337 patients with MS and noted that the odds ratio (OR) for risk for COVID-19 infection among patients with comorbidities was 1.69 compared to those without comorbidities. There were 779 patients with MS and COVID-19 and 1558 MS patients without COVID-19 who were linked to the former group through propensity score matching.

In the three primary logistic regression models, comorbidities and female sex were found to have a significant association with an increased risk for COVID-19 infection. The OR for risk for COVID-19 infection was 1.25 for women vs. men. Age was tied to a lower risk for infection, and each additional year of age was linked with a reduction in risk, ranging from 10% to 11%. Additionally, natalizumab was associated with a significantly higher risk of COVID-19 infection, compared to other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) (OR 2.38)… (Medscape)