Project description:BackgroundPoorer performance on standard tests of cognitive function is related to an elevated risk of death from lower respiratory tract infections. Whether pre-pandemic measures of cognition are related to COVID-19 mortality is untested.MethodsUK Biobank, a prospective cohort study, comprises around half a million people who were aged 40 to 69 years at study induction between 2006 and 2010 when a reaction time test was administered to the full sample, and verbal-numeric reasoning assessed in a subgroup. Death from COVID-19 was ascertained from participant linkage to a UK-wide national registry.ResultsBetween April 1st and September 23rd 2020, there were 388 deaths (138 women) ascribed to COVID-19 in the 494,932 individuals (269,602 women) with a reaction time test result, and 125 such deaths (38 women) in the 180,198 (97,794 women) for whom there were data on verbal-numeric reasoning. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, and ethnicity, a one standard deviation (118.2 msec) slower reaction time was related to a higher rate of death from COVID-19 (hazard ratio; 95% confidence interval: 1.18; 1.09, 1.28). A one standard deviation disadvantage (2.16 point) on the verbal-numeric reasoning test was also associated with an elevated risk of death (1.32; 1.09, 1.59). Attenuation after adjustment for additional covariates followed a similar pattern for both measures of cognition. For verbal-numeric reasoning, for instance, the hazard ratios were 1.22 (0.98, 1.51) after control for socioeconomic status, 1.16 (0.96, 1.41) after lifestyle factors, 1.25 (1.04, 1.52) after co-morbidity, and 1.29 (1.01, 1.64) after physiological indices.ConclusionsIn the present study, poorer performance on two pre-pandemic indicators of cognitive function, including reaction time, a knowledge-reduced measure, was related to death ascribed to COVID-19.
Project description:Poorer performance on standard tests of pre-morbid cognitive function is related to an elevated risk of death from lower respiratory tract infections but the link with coronavirus (COVID‑19) mortality is untested. Participants in UK Biobank, aged 40 to 69 years at study induction (2006-10), were administered a reaction time test, an indicator of information processing speed, and also had their verbal-numeric reasoning assessed. Between April 1st and September 23rd 2020 there were 388 registry-confirmed deaths (138 women) ascribed to COVID-19 in 494,932 individuals (269,602 women) with a reaction time test result, and 125 such deaths (38 women) in the subgroup of 180,198 people (97,794 women) with data on verbal-numeric reasoning. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, and ethnicity, a one standard deviation slower reaction time was related to a higher rate of death from COVID-19 (hazard ratio; 95% confidence interval: 1.18; 1.09, 1.28), as was a one standard deviation disadvantage on the verbal-numeric reasoning test (1.32; 1.09, 1.59). While there was some attenuation in these relationships after adjustment for additional covariates which included socio-economic status and lifestyle factors, the two pre-pandemic indicators of cognitive function continued to be related to COVID-19 mortality.
Project description:Several studies have assessed clinical outcomes after steroid withdrawal (SW) in kidney transplant (KT) recipients, but little is known about its potential impact on lymphocyte subpopulations. We designed a prospective study to evaluate the long-term impact of SW in 19 KT recipients compared to 16 KT recipients without changes in immunosuppression (steroid maintenance, SM). We assessed renal function, presence of HLA antibodies and peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets at time of inclusion, and 3, 12 and 24 months later. The immunophenotype of 20 healthy subjects was also analyzed. Serum creatinine and proteinuria remained stable in SW and SM patients. SW did not associate with generation of de novo donor-specific antibodies. SW patients showed decreases in T-lymphocytes (p?<?0.001), and in the CD4+ T cell subpopulation (p?=?0.046). The proportion of B-lymphocytes (p?=?0.017), and both naïve and transitional B cells increased compared to SM patients (p?<?0.001). Changes in B cell subsets were detected 3 months after SW and persisted for 24 months. No changes were observed in NK cells related to steroid withdrawal. SW patients displayed significant changes in peripheral T and B cell subsets, transitioning to the phenotype detected in healthy subjects. This may be considered as a maintained positive effect of SW previously unnoticed.
Project description:BackgroundDue to the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide, it is necessary to ascertain essential immune inflammatory parameters that describe the severity of the disease and provide guidance for treatment. We performed network meta-analyses to determine differences in blood cells, lymphocyte subsets, and cytokines in COVID-19 patients with different clinical stages.MethodsDatabases were systematically searched to May 2, 2020, and updated on June 1, 2020. Network meta-analyses were conducted via Stata 15.0, and the mean difference (MD) and its 95% CI were used as the effect values of the pooled analysis.ResultsSeventy-one studies were included involving 8647 COVID-19 patients, White blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEUT), IL-6, and IL-10 counts increased significantly with worsening of the COVID-19, while lymphocyte (LYM) counts decreased. The levels of platelet (PLT), CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD19+ cells in severe and critical patients were significantly lower than those in mild patients. IL-1β count was significantly elevated in critical patients.ConclusionsImmune suppression and inflammatory injury play crucial roles in the progression of COVID-19, and the identification of susceptible cells and cytokines provide guidance for the early and accurate treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Project description:In symptomatic patients with acute Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), lymphocytopenia is one of the most prominent laboratory findings. However, to date age and gender have not been considered in assessment of COVID-19-related cell count alterations. In this study, the impact of COVID-19 as well as age and gender on a large variety of lymphocyte subsets was analyzed in 33 COVID-19 patients and compared with cell counts in 50 healthy humans. We confirm that cell counts of total lymphocytes, B, NK, cytotoxic and helper T cells are reduced in patients with severe COVID-19, and this tendency was observed in patients with moderate COVID-19. Decreased cell counts were also found in all subsets of these cell types, except for CD4+ and CD8+ effector memory RA+ (EMRA) and terminal effector CD8+ cells. In multivariate analysis however, we show that in addition to COVID-19, there is an age-dependent reduction of total, central memory (CM), and early CD8+ cell subsets, as well as naïve, CM, and regulatory CD4+ cell subsets. Remarkably, reduced naïve CD8+ cell counts could be attributed to age alone, and not to COVID-19. By contrast, decreases in other subsets could be largely attributed to COVID-19, and only partly to age. In addition to COVID-19, male gender was a major factor influencing lower counts of CD3+ and CD4+ lymphocyte numbers. Our study confirms that cell counts of lymphocytes and their subsets are reduced in patients with COVID-19, but that age and gender must be considered when interpreting the altered cell counts.