Effects of COVID-19 on motor neuron disease mortality in the United States: a population-based cross-sectional study

Key points

Investigates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on motor neuron disease (MND) mortality

Affiliates

Jaime Raymond [1], James D. Berry [2], Theodore Larson [1], D. Kevin Horton [1], & Paul Mehta [1]

  1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
  2. Sean M Healey & AMG Center for ALS, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Journal

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration

Summary

This paper from the National ALS Registry aims to analyze effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on MND related deaths during 2020-2021. Death certificate data of all MND deaths over the age of 20 between 2017-2019 were compared with deaths during the pandemic years. The average number of deaths during the COVID years were found to be higher than pre-COVID years, 8009 vs 7485. Although MND related deaths increased during the pandemic years, COVID-19 itself was unlikely to be the cause of the increase; rather the circumstances surrounding the pandemic: inadequate medical care during lockdown and patients not leaving homes to seek treatment are determined to be the primary reason of the increased deaths. More research needs to be done to examine the comorbidities of MND deaths during the pandemic.

Link to paper

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Content Source:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry