RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Genetic factors contribute to individual differences in the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A portion of genetic predisposition can be captured using polygenic risk scores (PRS). Relatively little is known about the associations between PRS and COVID-19 severity or post-acute COVID-19 in community-dwelling individuals. METHODS: Participants in this study were 983 World Trade Center responders infected for the first time with SARS-CoV-2 (mean age at infection = 56.06; 93.4% male; 82.7% European ancestry). Seventy-five (7.6%) responders were in the severe COVID-19 category; 306 (31.1%) reported at least one post-acute COVID-19 symptom at 4-week follow-up. Analyses were adjusted for population stratification and demographic covariates. FINDINGS: The asthma PRS was associated with severe COVID-19 category (odds ratio [OR] = 1.61, 95% confidence interval: 1.17-2.21) and more severe COVID-19 symptomatology (ß = .09, p = .01), independently of respiratory disease diagnosis. Severe COVID-19 category was also associated with the allergic disease PRS (OR = 1.97, [1.26-3.07]) and the PRS for COVID-19 hospitalization (OR = 1.35, [1.01-1.82]). PRS for coronary artery disease and type II diabetes were not associated with COVID-19 severity. CONCLUSION: Recently developed polygenic biomarkers for asthma, allergic disease, and COVID-19 hospitalization capture some of the individual differences in severity and clinical course of COVID-19 illness in a community population.
Asunto(s)
Asma , COVID-19 , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2 , Humanos , Masculino , Femenino , COVID-19/genética , SARS-CoV-2/genética , Factores de Riesgo , Asma/genética , Asma/diagnósticoRESUMEN
The individuals who served our country in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) following the attacks of 11 September 2001 have, since then, been diagnosed with a number of conditions as a result of their exposures. In the present study, we sought to determine whether these conditions were risk factors for increased COVID-19 disease severity within a cohort of N = 1280 WTC responders with complete information on health outcomes prior to and following COVID-19 infection. We collected data on responders diagnosed with COVID-19, or had evidence of receiving positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction or antigen testing, or were asymptomatic but had IgG positive antibody testing. The presence of post-acute COVID-19 sequelae was measured using self-reported symptom severity scales. Analyses revealed that COVID-19 severity was associated with age, Black race, obstructive airway disease (OAD), as well as with worse self-reported depressive symptoms. Similarly, post-acute COVID-19 sequelae was associated with initial analysis for COVID-19 severity, upper respiratory disease (URD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), OAD, heart disease, and higher depressive symptoms. We conclude that increased COVID-19 illness severity and the presence of post-acute COVID-19 sequelae may be more common in WTC responders with chronic diseases than in those responders without chronic disease processes resulting from exposures at the WTC disaster.