Newswise — Having a faulty gene linked to dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19, according to a large-scale study.
Researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine analysed data from the UK Biobank, and found high risk of severe COVID-19 infection among European ancestry participants who carry two faulty copies of the APOE gene (termed e4e4). One in 36 people of European ancestry have two faulty copies of this gene, and this is known to increase risks of Alzheimer’s disease up to 14-fold* and also increases risks of heart disease.
Now, the research team has found that carrying these gene mutations doubles the risks of COVID-19 – even in people who had not developed these diseases.
The team has previously found that people with dementia are three times more likely to get severe COVID-19, yet they…
