Old age alone does not predict COVID-19 mortality risk; Statins may slightly lower COVID-19 death risk

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have yet to be certified by peer review.

Old age alone does not predict COVID-19 mortality risk

Older patients are known to be at higher risk for poor outcomes after infection with the coronavirus, but among those hospitalized with COVID-19, other characteristics help predict who is likely to do poorly, new data suggest.

In a review of data on 4,783 people age 65 and older who were hospitalized for COVID-19 early in the pandemic, researchers at Northwell Health hospitals in New York found that age itself did not independently predict whether a patient was more likely to die.

Instead, they reported on Thursday in BMC Geriatrics, more important predictors of death for elderly patients were factors such as how independent they were before the infection, how sick they were when they arrived at the hospital, and their pre-existing medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, lung disease and dementia.

The researchers noted that in facilities forced to ration care or facing resource shortages, some guidelines use advanced age as a reason to deny care.

"Our findings support the American Geriatrics Society position statement indicating age alone should never be used to make decisions regarding resource allocation under conditions of resource scarcity," the researchers said.

"Although age is still an important factor in the overall risk of COVID-19 mortality... a comprehensive approach that accounts for the above factors is essential in preventing ageism."

Statins may protect slightly against COVID-19 death

Widely-used statin drugs for lowering cholesterol may be linked to a slightly lower risk of dying from COVID-19, new data suggest.

Researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden reviewed the medical records of nearly 1 million residents of Stockholm over the age of 45 between March and November 2020, roughly 18% of whom had been prescribed a statin, such as Pfizer Inc's Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Merck & Co's Zocor (simvastatin).

The people prescribed statins had more risk factors for poor COVID-19 outcomes: they were older, more often male, had more medical conditions, lower education levels and less disposable income.

After taking all that into account, statin users were still 12% less likely to have died of COVID-19 during the study period, according to a report published on Thursday in PLOS Medicine.

The researchers did not compare outcomes in people who actually got infected with the virus, however. And they only had data on prescriptions - not on whether patients took the medicine as prescribed. A formal clinical trial would be needed to confirm the findings.

Still, they conclude, their data "suggest that statin treatment may have a modest preventive therapeutic effect on COVID-19 mortality."  -- Reuters