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Emerging Trends in Functional Movement Disorders Consultations and the Impact of a Major Life Event
Daniel S Marín-Medina1,2, Gala Lopez1, Malco Rossi1,3
1Servicio de Movimientos Anormales, Departamento de Neurología, Fleni, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Background:
Awareness and major external events can contribute to the number of FMD cases.
Objective:
To analyze trends in new Functional Movement Disorders (FMD) consultations and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
Retrospective analysis of FMD new consultations (2014-2024) at a tertiary movement disorders clinic. Trends and the COVID-19 impact were analyzed with linear and segmented regression. Patient characteristics in the pre- and post-pandemic periods were compared.
Results:
Among 14,587 new consultations, 162 were FMD (79% female, mean age at onset 44.7 ± 18.3 years). FMD consultations increased slowly over time, with a marked surge after 2021. The significant rise was observed during the three years post-pandemic, followed by a return to the pre-pandemic slope. Pre and post-pandemic groups' characteristics were almost similar.
Conclusions:
FMD consultations increased over time and significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. This underscores the influence of increased awareness and external factors.
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