| Title: | Association of Sickle Cell Trait with Risk and Mortality of COVID-19: Results from the United Kingdom Biobank |
| Journal: | American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene |
| Published: | 15 Jun 2021 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34129519/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-1657 |
| URL: | https://www.ajtmh.org/downloadpdf/journals/tpmd/105/2/article-p368.pdf |
Publication 7258
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Abstract
Sickle cell trait (SCT) carriers inherit one copy of the Glu6Val mutation in the hemoglobin gene and is particularly common in Black individuals (5-10%). Considering the roles of hemoglobin in immune responses and the higher risk for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among Black individuals, we tested whether Black SCT carriers were at increased risk for COVID-19 infection and mortality according to the United Kingdom Biobank. Among Black individuals who were tested for COVID-19, we found similar infection rates among SCT carriers (14/72; 19.7%) and noncarriers (167/791; 21.1%), but higher COVID-19 mortality rates among SCT carriers (4/14; 28.6%) than among noncarriers (21/167; 12.6%) (odds ratio [OR], 3.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69-11.82; P = 0.12). Notably, SCT carriers with preexisting diabetes had significantly higher COVID-19 mortality (4/4; 100%) than those without diabetes (0/10; 0%; (OR, 90.71; 95% CI, 5.66-infinite; P = 0.0005). These findings suggest that Black SCT carriers with preexisting diabetes are at disproportionally higher risk for COVID-19 mortality. Confirmation by larger studies is warranted.13 Authors
- W. Kyle Resurreccion
- Joseph Hulsizer
- Zhuqing Shi
- Jun Wei
- Chi-Hsiung Wang
- Rong Na
- S. Lilly Zheng
- Clay Struve
- Brian T. Helfand
- Janardan Khandekar
- Liana Billings
- Michael S. Caplan
- Jianfeng Xu
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