22 days ago
- Long COVID has a disability burden (YLDs) comparable to Alzheimer's and asthma.
- NIH funding for Long COVID is only 14% of its YLD-proportionate amount ($106 million vs. $739.8 million), indicating significant underfunding.
- ME/CFS is the most underfunded condition, receiving less than 1% of its YLD-proportionate funding.
- Among conditions studied, female-predominant diseases are disproportionately underfunded.
- Median funding per YLD is 5.2 times higher for male-predominant conditions than female-predominant ones.
- Years lived with disability (YLDs) explain only 6.5% of NIH funding variance across conditions.
- The study highlights disparities where funding does not align with disability burden, especially for female-predominant diseases.