Cell Rep: High triglyceride levels increase the serious risk of COVID-19

An analysis by University of Queensland researchers based on thousands of human genomes found that common genetic factors contribute to the risk of severe COVID-19 and blood analyte (component) levels, proposing new targets
for better screening, prognosis and treatment of COVID.

Professor Dale Nyholt from Queensland Institute of Technology's Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health said a key finding was that one of the 344 blood analytes studied had a widely shared genetic effect on COVID-19, leading to an increased
risk of severe COVID-19.

Professor Nieholt said: "Our genetic causal analysis found that elevated levels of triglycerides, a fat, a biomarker of cardiovascular disease, are strongly associated with
an increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19.

"The high genetic causal ratio of 0.
82 suggests that elevated triglyceride levels are responsible
for severe COVID-19 illness.

"This coincides with the observation that patients who died in hospital or were admitted to the ICU had significantly higher triglyceride levels than those who were discharged or
mildly ill.
"

"Our findings provide a genetic explanation for the more severe illness in people with high triglycerides and support the use of lipid-lowering drugs such as statins and fibrin to treat severe COVID-19
.
"

Research team member Hamzeh Mesrian Tanha, a doctoral candidate, said they used genome-wide association study (GWAS) data to look for common genetic effects
between severe COVID-19 and blood analytes at different levels of genome, gene and individual DNA bases.

GWAS was able to sift through the genomes of thousands of people looking for links between millions of genetic variants and different diseases, with the aim of identifying genetic factors
in disease conditions.

"In three levels of investigation, our analysis linked blood levels of at least 71 analysts to severe COVID-19, suggesting a common biological mechanism or causality
," Tanha said.

"Of these 71 analytes, we found evidence of co-effects with severe COVID-19 at all three levels, with only triglycerides showing a causal relationship
.
"

Mr Thanha said a recent study of COVID-19 patients treated with statins in hospital showed lower
mortality rates among those who received statin therapy in hospital compared to patients who did not.

"However, retrospective studies have produced conflicting results
on the protective effects of prior statin use.
Part of the reason may be the presence of other medical conditions
in statin users.

"Therefore, our findings provide important clarity and support targeted triglyceride lowering to help prevent severe COVID-19
.
"

The co-genetic effects between blood analyte levels and the risk of severe COVID-19 are published in Cell Reports
.
The research team consisted of
Hamzeh Tanha, Dr.
Anita Sathyanarayanan, Associate Professor Divya Mehta and Professor Dale Nyholt.