Publication date: Feb 04, 2025

The COVIVAX study assessed the association between COVID-19 vaccination and the risk of common neurological disorders in a multicenter case-control design. Vaccination exposure was compared between individuals with a first diagnosis of a neurological disorder (cases) and age- and sex-matched controls. A total of 624 participants were enrolled, and after random 1:1 matching 265 cases and 265 matched controls (total 530 participants) were included in the analyses. The most frequent neurological diagnosis in cases were stroke (60. 4%), multiple sclerosis (11. 3%) and seizures (6. 4%). The proportion of vaccinated participants was 72. 1% among cases and 79. 6% among controls. A protective role of vaccination on the risk of developing a new neurological disorder was detected in the unadjusted analysis (OR 0. 50; 95% CI 0. 29-0. 86; p = 0. 0114). After adjustment for confounders, the number of vaccination doses received was associated with a reduced risk of developing new neurological disorders for participants aged over 60 years ( p = 0. 0472; OR 0. 14, 95% CI 0. 03-0. 68), with pre-existing comorbidities (p = 0. 0122; OR 0. 04, 95% CI 0. 01-0. 99) and for stroke (p = 0. 0232; OR 0. 04, 95% CI 0. 02-0. 97). The COVIVAX study provided no warning sign regarding an increase in the risk of developing new neurological disorders following COVID-19 vaccination of any type or doses. A potentially protective effect of multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines against the risk of stroke in people aged over 60 needs to be confirmed by further studies.

Semantics

Original Article