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Susceptibility of β-Thalassemia Heterozygotes to COVID-19
Sotirios Sotiriou1, Athina A Samara1, Dimitra Vamvakopoulou2
1Department of Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece.
Insights
Individuals with beta-thalassemia trait face increased COVID-19 mortality. This study highlights beta-thalassemia heterozygosity as a risk factor for severe coronavirus disease 2019 outcomes, including death.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Infectious Diseases
- Genetics
Background:
- Beta-thalassemia is a prevalent single-gene blood disorder.
- Assessing COVID-19 susceptibility in beta-thalassemia patients is a biomedical priority.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between beta-thalassemia heterozygosity and COVID-19 severity, hospitalization length, ICU admission, and mortality.
- To identify patient characteristics influencing COVID-19 outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 255 unvaccinated COVID-19 participants was studied.
- Patient data included demographics, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, etc.), and beta-thalassemia status.
- Multivariate analysis was used to assess associations with COVID-19 severity and mortality.
Main Results:
- Beta-thalassemia heterozygosity was significantly associated with severe-critical COVID-19 (OR=2.89) and increased mortality (OR=2.79).
- Male sex and increased age were also linked to severe COVID-19 and mortality.
- Hypertension was associated with ICU admission (OR=5.12), while hyperlipidemia reduced mortality (OR=0.38).
Conclusions:
- Pilot observations suggest that beta-thalassemia heterozygotes experience enhanced mortality from COVID-19.
- Beta-thalassemia trait is a significant risk factor for adverse COVID-19 outcomes.
Background:
β-Thalassemia is the most prevalent single gene blood disorder, while the assessment of its susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) warrants it a pressing biomedical priority.
Methods:
We studied 255 positive COVID-19 participants unvaccinated against severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), consecutively recruited during the last trimester of 2020. Patient characteristics including age, sex, current smoking status, atrial fibrillation, chronic respiratory disease, coronary disease, diabetes, neoplasia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and β-thalassemia heterozygosity were assessed for COVID-19 severity, length of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality from COVID-19.
Results:
We assessed patient characteristics associated with clinical symptoms, ICU admission, and mortality from COVID-19. In multivariate analysis, severe-critical COVID-19 was strongly associated with male sex (p = 0.023), increased age (p < 0.001), and β-thalassemia heterozygosity (p = 0.002, OR = 2.89). Regarding the requirement for ICU care, in multivariate analysis there was a statistically significant association with hypertension (p = 0.001, OR = 5.12), while β-thalassemia heterozygosity had no effect (p = 0.508, OR = 1.33). Mortality was linked to male sex (p = 0.036, OR = 2.09), increased age (p < 0.001) and β-thalassemia heterozygosity (p = 0.010, OR = 2.79) in multivariate analysis. It is worth noting that hyperlipidemia reduced mortality from COVID-19 (p = 0.008, OR = 0.38). No statistically significant association of current smoking status with patient characteristics studied was observed.
Conclusions:
Our pilot observations indicate enhanced mortality of β-thalassemia heterozygotes from COVID-19.
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