COVID-19 positive outpatients are at an increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders compared with individuals who tested negative for the virus, a new study presented today at the 8th European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress has shown.

The study, which analysed the health records of over half of the Danish population, found that those who had tested positive for COVID-19 were at an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and ischaemic stroke.

Out of the 919,731 individuals that tested for COVID-19 within the study, researchers found that the 43,375 people who tested positive had a 3.5 times increased risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, 2.6 times with Parkinson’s disease, 2.7 times with ischaemic stroke and a 4.8 times increased with intracerebral haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain). While neuroinflammation may contribute to an accelerated development of neurodegenerative disorders, the authors also highlighted implications of the scientific focus on long-term sequelae after COVID-19.