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- Title
Decreased Incidence of Guillain-Barré Syndrome during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Population-Based Study.
- Authors
Hafsteinsdóttir, Brynhildur; Dalemo, Ellen; Elíasdóttir, Ólöf; Ólafsson, Elías; Axelsson, Markus
- Abstract
Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome is an immune-mediated acute inflammatory polyneuropathy that is associated with various triggers, including certain infections and vaccines. It has been suggested that both SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination may be triggering factors for Guillain-Barré syndrome, but evidence remains equivocal. Here, we conducted a population-based incidence study of Guillain-Barré syndrome spanning the 3 years immediately prior to and the 2 years during the pandemic. Methods: Cases were identified by searching a regional diagnostic database for the ICD-10 code for Guillain-Barré syndrome. Individuals who fulfilled the Brighton criteria for Guillain-Barré syndrome were included. Information on clinical presentation, laboratory values, and vaccination status were retrieved from medical records. We calculated the incidence immediately prior to and during the pandemic. Results: The Guillain-Barré syndrome incidence rate was 1.35/100,000 person-years for the pre-pandemic period and 0.66/100,000 person-years for the pandemic period (incidence rate ratio: 0.49; p = 0.003). Three cases were temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 1 case each to the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusions: Our results show that the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome decreased during the pandemic. This is most likely due to decreased prevalence of triggering infections due to social restrictions. Our findings do not support a causal relationship between Guillain-Barré syndrome and COVID-19.
- Subjects
COVID-19 pandemic; ASTRAZENECA PLC; GUILLAIN-Barre syndrome; VACCINATION status; COVID-19 vaccines; IMMUNE reconstitution inflammatory syndrome; SYMPTOMS; POLYNEUROPATHIES
- Publication
Neuroepidemiology, 2023, Vol 57, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
0251-5350
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1159/000527726