Discovering the Genetic Risk Factors for Severe COVID-19
Who might have a genetic predispositionfor contracting the virus that causes COVID-19and be at increased risk for complications?
Why havepatients have experienced a broad range of COVID-19 severity(five percent require intensive care;the mortality rate is one to three percent; andabout a third of patients were asymptomatic)?
ϲappgeneticistsare beginning to find out, as theyuncoverthegeneticmechanismsunderlying these questionsina research study with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).They’re looking to enroll more than 40,000 people who have been infected with COVID-19in the study,which they hope will shed light on bothpredisposing gene mutationsand—patients with the virusbut no symptoms,whorepresent about 30 per cent of infected patients.
“This can help inform patients whose families are at increased risk for COVID-19 complications,”explains Steven M. Lipkin,MD,PhD,FACMG,Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Medicineand vicechair forresearch, Sanford and Joan Weill Department of Medicine.
’salreadyknownthat approximately fourpercentof Americans have particularlyincreased genetic predisposition to thevirus—apart from the effects of conditions such as diabetes, obesity and autoimmune diseases,Dr. Lipkinsays.About three percentcarry mutations thatputthem atincreased risk of doing poorly when infected with COVID-19, sometimes requiring hospitalization and admission to an intensive care unit.
“We want to understand precisely which gene mutations confer the greatest risk of COVID-19 medical complications, and to discover new genes associated with COVID-19 risk—especially those in underrepresented minority groups,” Dr. Lipkin says. “We also hope this willguide us tomore effective waysto treat these higher-risk patients.”
Among the patients thatDr. Lipkin’s team willrecruit for the study will beϲapp health care workers.
To find out if you qualify to participate in the study,or to undergoclinical genetic testing for COVID-19 severe disease,please emailIman Mohammed atibm4001@med.cornell.edu.