On October 6, 2021, an article called “A Better Way to Think About Your Risk for Covid1” was published to The Atlantic, a newspaper centered in Boston that has been producing news articles since 1857. This article chose to examine which individuals, if any, were more susceptible to acquiring severe COVID symptoms. The original thought, as shared in the article, was that geriatric individuals were more likely to acquire severe COVID, including possible death, however subsequent studies have since refuted this idea. The basis for this theory stems from research showing that older individuals are more likely to be immunocompromised, and therefore more likely to be affected by symptoms than by younger individuals with stronger immune systems.
Studies have shown that the human immune system not only declines as the body ages, but that its efficiency is on a continuum and can vary between individuals of the same age group, as well as varying between individuals of different ethnicities. However, this range is not set and can vary, making it difficult for scientists to track risk-factors between age groups and ethnicities. This range can be an important feature in deciding whether an individual is more at risk for severe symptoms than another, and quite a few conditions can increase this risk. Diabetes is one such condition and has been seen in a large group of COVID-infected individuals. The condition does not make an individual any more susceptible to COVID-19 infections, but it has been seen that individuals with diabetes are more at risk for the severe symptoms that can put them in the intensive care units at a hospital2. This is an indicator that underlying diseases can have an impact on the severity of infections, especially COVID.
Many immunocompromising conditions are known, but their specific genome sequence is not. These conditions can arise through mutation of the normal genome and can be undetected until the condition flares up. In the past, scientists have not been able to easily trace the mutations, as analyzing DNA was a difficult and often lengthy process. However, recent advances in DNA sequencing technology have allowed scientists to study these mutations, allowing doctors to diagnose genetic conditions quickly and efficiently, and also allows treatment of these conditions to be more effective in the long run. Also, by knowing these underlying conditions, individuals can recognize their own potential increased risk to COVID infections.
This gene-sequencing has also allowed scientists to track mutations that could increase the risk for a specific group of people, including men under 60 with mutations on their X chromosome. These genetic variations have also had another outcome, showing how mutations may make individuals more susceptible to one disease or infection but make them less at risk for another. One issue, however, with gene-sequencing, is that it is an expensive process that is not available to everyone and sharing the information gained from this testing might not always be possible. Any genetic testing is vulnerable to ethical debated because everyone has their own opinion on how someone’s specific genetic sequence could and should be used.
Overall, gene sequencing is one way to test for risk factors, especially for the current COVID outbreak, but may become more important in the future. Knowing what an individual is genetically disposed to can help with not only current medical issues, but it may help doctors and scientists understand how much the genetic sequence impacts health as the human body ages. It may also help scientists understand the immune system’s quirks and how those quirks may help or hurt the human body.
Citations
Khamsi, R. A Better Way to Think About Your Risk for COVID. The Atlantic; https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/10/covid-risk-factors-could-be-hiding-our-genes/620315/ (2021).
Orioli, L. et al. COVID-19 in diabetic patients: Related risks and specifics of management. Annales d’Endocrinologie 81, 101-109 (2020).