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Cited by 319COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesCOVID-19 epidemiological studiesSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 37 of the 38 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Is older age associated with COVID-19 mortality in the absence of other risk factors? General population cohort study of 470,034 participants

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Ho, Frederick K., Petermann-Rocha, Fanny, Gray, Stuart R., Jani, Bhautesh D., Katikireddi, S. Vittal, Niedzwiedz, Claire L., Foster, Hamish, Hastie, Claire E., Mackay, Daniel F., Gill, Jason M. R., O'Donnell, Catherine, Welsh, Paul, Mair, Frances, Sattar, Naveed, Celis-Morales, Carlos A., Pell, Jill P.·2020·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0241824PMC 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.

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Fig 1 Association of age with COVID-19 mortality by adjustment schemes. Model 1 (Baseline): Sex, ethnicity, deprivation, duration of follow-up, smoking; Model 2 (Physical): Baseline + BMI, SBP; Model 3 (Respiratory): Baseline + FEV1, FEV1/FVC; Model 4 (Frailty): Baseline + frailty stages; Model 5 (LTC): Baseline + number of LTCs; BMI body mass index; SBP systolic blood pressure; FEV forced expiratory volume; FVC forced vital capacity; LTC long-term conditions.
Fig 1 Association of age with COVID-19 mortality by adjustment schemes. Model 1 (Baseline): Sex, ethnicity, deprivation, duration of follow-up, smoking; Model 2 (Physical): Baseline + BMI, SBP; Model 3 (Respiratory): Baseline + FEV1, FEV1/FVC; Model 4 (Frailty): Baseline + frailty stages; Model 5 (LTC): Baseline + number of LTCs; BMI body mass index; SBP systolic blood pressure; FEV forced expiratory volume; FVC forced vital capacity; LTC long-term conditions.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 2 Associations between combinations of age group and risk factors and COVID-19 mortality. Adjusted for sex, ethnicity, deprivation, duration of follow-up; N number; RR relative risk; CI confidence interval; FEV forces expiratory volume; LTC long-term condition.
Fig 2 Associations between combinations of age group and risk factors and COVID-19 mortality. Adjusted for sex, ethnicity, deprivation, duration of follow-up; N number; RR relative risk; CI confidence interval; FEV forces expiratory volume; LTC long-term condition.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 3 Association between age group combined with number of risk factors and COVID-19 mortality. Adjusted for sex, ethnicity, deprivation, duration of follow-up Risk factors included smoking, obesity, hypertension, FEV1, frailty, and number of LTCs ≥3.
Fig 3 Association between age group combined with number of risk factors and COVID-19 mortality. Adjusted for sex, ethnicity, deprivation, duration of follow-up Risk factors included smoking, obesity, hypertension, FEV1, frailty, and number of LTCs ≥3.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. DG Le Couteur, 2020, COVID-19 is a disease of older people, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A

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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., & Pell, J. P.
Affiliations
University of Glasgow (GB)
Corresponding author
Pell, Jill P.
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2020-11-05
Volume
15
Issue
11
Pages
e0241824
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0241824
PMC
PMC7644030
OpenAlex
W3095294932
Cited by
319
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 67
FWCI
8.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_17228, MR/R024774/1)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › COVID-19 epidemiological studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
Keywords
COVID-19 mortality, old age, older adults, risk factors, healthy aging, FEV1, systolic blood pressure, grip strength, chronic disease, UK Biobank
MeSH terms
Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Risk Factors, Cohort Studies, Coronavirus Infections, Risk Assessment, Pandemics

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