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The Age-Related Risk of Severe Outcomes Due to COVID-19 Infection: A Rapid Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression

Author

Listed:
  • Karla Romero Starke

    (Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany)

  • Gabriela Petereit-Haack

    (Division of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Safety and Environment, Regional Government of South Hesse, 65197 Wiesbaden, Germany)

  • Melanie Schubert

    (Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany)

  • Daniel Kämpf

    (Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany)

  • Alexandra Schliebner

    (Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany)

  • Janice Hegewald

    (Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany)

  • Andreas Seidler

    (Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany)

Abstract

Increased age appears to be a strong risk factor for COVID-19 severe outcomes. However, studies do not sufficiently consider the age-dependency of other important factors influencing the course of disease. The aim of this review was to quantify the isolated effect of age on severe COVID-19 outcomes. We searched Pubmed to find relevant studies published in 2020. Two independent reviewers evaluated them using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We extracted the results and assessed seven domains of bias for each study. After adjusting for important age-related risk factors, the isolated effect of age was estimated using meta-regression. Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria: four studies for COVID-19 disease severity, seven for mortality, and one for admission to ICU. The crude effect of age (5.2% and 13.4% higher risk of disease severity and death per age year, respectively) substantially decreased when adjusting for important age-dependent risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease/cerebrovascular disease, compromised immunity, previous respiratory disease, renal disease). Adjusting for all six comorbidities indicates a 2.7% risk increase for disease severity (two studies), and no additional risk of death per year of age (five studies). The indication of a rather weak influence of age on COVID-19 disease severity after adjustment for important age-dependent risk factors should be taken in consideration when implementing age-related preventative measures (e.g., age-dependent work restrictions).

Suggested Citation

  • Karla Romero Starke & Gabriela Petereit-Haack & Melanie Schubert & Daniel Kämpf & Alexandra Schliebner & Janice Hegewald & Andreas Seidler, 2020. "The Age-Related Risk of Severe Outcomes Due to COVID-19 Infection: A Rapid Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:16:p:5974-:d:400191
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Albert Nienhaus, 2021. "COVID-19 among Health Workers in Germany—An Update," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-10, August.
    2. Mateusz Ciski & Krzysztof Rząsa, 2023. "Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression in the Investigation of Local COVID-19 Anomalies Based on Population Age Structure in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.
    3. Karla Romero Starke & René Mauer & Ethel Karskens & Anna Pretzsch & David Reissig & Albert Nienhaus & Anna Lene Seidler & Andreas Seidler, 2021. "The Effect of Ambient Environmental Conditions on COVID-19 Mortality: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Marisa R. Eastman & Jessica M. Finlay & Lindsay C. Kobayashi, 2021. "Alcohol Use and Mental Health among Older American Adults during the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Joanna Dolar-Szczasny & Mario D. Toro & Anna Dworzańska & Tomasz Wójtowicz & Izabela Korona-Glowniak & Rafał Sawicki & Anastazja Boguszewska & Małgorzata Polz-Dacewicz & Krzysztof Tomasiewicz & Wojcie, 2021. "Ocular Involvement of SARS-CoV-2 in a Polish Cohort of COVID-19-Positive Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-13, March.
    6. Heusler, Anna & Osiander, Christopher & Schmidtke, Julia, 2022. "Essential for society but not equally deserving of preferential treatment? A discrete-choice experiment regarding COVID-19 healthcare," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    7. Dirga Kumar Lamichhane & Sabina Shrestha & Hwan-Cheol Kim, 2022. "District-Level Risk Factors for COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality in Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Mingolla, Stefano & Lu, Zhongming, 2022. "Impact of implementation timing on the effectiveness of stay-at-home requirement under the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons from the Italian Case," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(6), pages 504-511.
    9. Carol Bibiana Colonia & Rosanna Camerano-Ruiz & Andrés Felipe Mora-Salamanca & Ana Beatriz Vásquez-Rodríguez & Camilo Alberto Pino-Gutiérrez & Luz Amparo Pérez-Fonseca & Deidamia García-Quintero & Jen, 2021. "SARS-CoV-2 Infection among School Population of One Developing Country. Do School Closures Protect Students and Teachers against SARS-CoV-2 Infection?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-9, December.
    10. Johnson, Branden B. & Kim, Byungdoo, 2023. "Cross-temporal relations of conditional risk perception measures with protective actions against COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).

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