How Do Neuromuscular Diseases Affect Prevalence of Neuropsychiatric Conditions?

Patients with neuromuscular diseases (NMDs) have a higher prevalence of neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, depression, and dementia, according to study results presented at the 2023 American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) Annual Meeting, held from November 1 to 4 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Little is known about the effect of NMDs on hospitalized patients with neuropsychiatric conditions; therefore, researchers of a retrospective analysis aimed to assess the prevalence and outcomes of neuropsychiatric conditions among patients with vs without NMDs.

For the study, the researchers collected hospitalization data from the National Inpatient Sample database. Information on demographics, neuropsychiatric incidence, mortality, and length of stay were compared between individuals with and without NMDs. neuropsychiatric conditions included mood, psychotic, and neurodegenerative disorders.

Of 28,476,826 hospitalizations that occurred between 2016 and 2019, 580,403 (2%) cases of NMD and 5,923,476 (21%) cases of neuropsychiatric conditions were reported.

The researchers found that the prevalence of neuropsychiatric conditions was higher among individuals with vs without NMD (38.3% vs 20.4%; P <.001), with a higher number of schizophrenia (3.4% vs 2.5%), bipolar disorders (3.7% vs 2.8%), depression (19% vs 12%), and dementia (19.3% vs 5.2%) cases (P <.001 for all).

In addition, the researchers noted that individuals with NMDs with vs without NP conditions had a higher mean age (71 vs 61 years; P <.01), length of hospital stay (6.3 vs 5.8 days; P <.01), and rate of mortality (3.1% vs 2.1%; P <.001).

Autoimmune disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension were all more common among patients with NMD and neuropsychiatric conditions.

The researchers concluded, “These results suggest that NMD may be directly correlated with the prevalence of NP [neuropsychiatric conditions] and hospital resource utilization.” They also noted the need for further research to understand the relationship between NMD and neuropsychiatric conditions and the factors associated with it.