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SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and effects of age, sex, comorbidity, and vaccination among older individuals: A national cohort study.
- Source :
- Influenza & Other Respiratory Viruses; Nov2023, Vol. 17 Issue 11, p1-11, 11p
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Background: We investigated the contribution of age, coexisting medical conditions, sex, and vaccination to incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection and of severe, critical, or fatal COVID‐19 in older adults since pandemic onset. Methods: A national retrospective cohort study was conducted in the population of Qatar aged ≥50 years between February 5, 2020 and June 15, 2023. Adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) for infection and for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outcomes were estimated through Cox regression models. Results: Cumulative incidence was 25.01% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24.86–25.15%) for infection and 1.59% (95% CI: 1.55–1.64%) for severe, critical, or fatal COVID‐19 after a follow‐up duration of 40.9 months. Risk of infection varied minimally by age and sex but increased significantly with coexisting conditions. Risk of infection was reduced with primary‐series vaccination (AHR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.90–0.93) and further with first booster vaccination (AHR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.74–0.77). Risk of severe, critical, or fatal COVID‐19 increased exponentially with age and linearly with coexisting conditions. AHRs for severe, critical, or fatal COVID‐19 were 0.86 (95% CI: 0.7–0.97) for one dose, 0.15 (95% CI: 0.13–0.17) for primary‐series vaccination, and 0.11 (95% CI: 0.08–0.14) for first booster vaccination. Sensitivity analysis restricted to only Qataris yielded similar results. Conclusion: Incidence of severe COVID‐19 in older adults followed a dynamic pattern shaped by infection incidence, variant severity, and population immunity. Age, sex, and coexisting conditions were strong determinants of infection severity. Vaccine protection against severe outcomes showed a dose–response relationship, highlighting the importance of booster vaccination for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
OLDER people
BOOSTER vaccines
VACCINATION
COVID-19 pandemic
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17502640
- Volume :
- 17
- Issue :
- 11
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Influenza & Other Respiratory Viruses
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 173925914
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/irv.13224