Ho, F. K. et al. (2020) Is older age associated with COVID-19 mortality in the absence of other risk factors? General population cohort study of 470,034 participants. PLoS ONE, 15(11), e0241824. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241824) (PMID:33152008) (PMCID:PMC7644030)
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Abstract
Introduction: Older people have been reported to be at higher risk of COVID-19 mortality. This study explored the factors mediating this association and whether older age was associated with increased mortality risk in the absence of other risk factors. Methods: In UK Biobank, a population cohort study, baseline data were linked to COVID-19 deaths. Poisson regression was used to study the association between current age and COVID-19 mortality. Results: Among eligible participants, 438 (0.09%) died of COVID-19. Current age was associated exponentially with COVID-19 mortality. Overall, participants aged ≥75 years were at 13-fold (95% CI 9.13–17.85) mortality risk compared with those <65 years. Low forced expiratory volume in 1 second, high systolic blood pressure, low handgrip strength, and multiple long-term conditions were significant mediators, and collectively explained 39.3% of their excess risk. The associations between these risk factors and COVID-19 mortality were stronger among older participants. Participants aged ≥75 without additional risk factors were at 4-fold risk (95% CI 1.57–9.96, P = 0.004) compared with all participants aged <65 years. Conclusions: Higher COVID-19 mortality among older adults was partially explained by other risk factors. ‘Healthy’ older adults were at much lower risk. Nonetheless, older age was an independent risk factor for COVID-19 mortality.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Hastie, Dr Claire and Gill, Professor Jason and Ho, Dr Frederick and Foster, Dr Hamish and O'Donnell, Professor Kate and Katikireddi, Professor Vittal and Mackay, Professor Daniel and Jani, Dr Bhautesh and Welsh, Professor Paul and Mair, Professor Frances and Niedzwiedz, Dr Claire and Celis, Dr Carlos and Gray, Professor Stuart and Pell, Professor Jill and Petermann-Rocha, Mrs Fanny and Sattar, Professor Naveed |
Creator Roles: | Ho, F. K.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft Petermann-Rocha, F.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Gray, S. R.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Jani, B. D.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Katikireddi, S. V.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Niedzwiedz, C. L.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Foster, H.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Hastie, C. E.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Mackay, D. F.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Gill, J. M.R.Investigation, Writing – review and editing O'Donnell, C.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Welsh, P.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Mair, F.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Sattar, N.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Celis-Morales, C. A.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Pell, J. P.Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing – review and editing |
Authors: | Ho, F. K., Petermann-Rocha, F., Gray, S. R., Jani, B. D., Katikireddi, S. V., Niedzwiedz, C. L., Foster, H., Hastie, C. E., Mackay, D. F., Gill, J. M.R., O'Donnell, C., Welsh, P., Mair, F., Sattar, N., Celis-Morales, C. A., and Pell, J. P. |
College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > General Practice and Primary Care College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health |
Journal Name: | PLoS ONE |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
ISSN (Online): | 1932-6203 |
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2020 Ho et al. |
First Published: | First published in PLoS ONE 15(11): e0241824 |
Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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