Baseline Cardiometabolic Profiles and SARS-CoV-2 Risk in the UK Biobank

Background

SARS-CoV-2 is a rapidly spreading coronavirus with a high incidence of severe upper respiratory infection that first presented in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Many factors have been identified as risk factors for SARS-CoV-2, with much attention being paid to body mass index (BMI), but little investigation has been done to investigate dysregulation of lipid profiles and diabetes, which are often comorbid in high BMI patients.

Objective

This study seeks to describe the impact of BMI, HDL, LDL, ApoA, ApoB, triglycerides, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), diabetes, alcohol and red wine intake on SARS-CoV-2 risk in UK Biobank (UKB) study participants.

Methods

We examined the effect of BMI, lipid profiles, diabetes and alcohol intake on the risk of testing positive for SARS-Cov-2 among 9,005 UKB participants tested for SARS-CoV-2 from March 16 through June 29, 2020. Logistic regression was performed on the target variables controlling for age, sex and ancestry.

Results

BMI, Type II diabetes and HbA1c were associated with increased SARS-CoV-2 risk (p < 0.05) while HDL and ApoA were associated with decreased risk (p < 0.001). Additionally, red wine intake was associated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 risk (p < 0.05). LDL, ApoB and triglyceride levels were not found to be significantly associated with increased risk.

Conclusion

Elevated HDL and ApoA levels and alcohol intake, specifically red wine intake, were associated with reduced risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, while type II diabetes and HbA1c were associated with increased risk. The effects of alcohol, type II diabetes and HbA1c levels may be indirect, mediated in part through regulation of HDL levels. In summary, our study corroborates the emerging picture that high HDL levels may confer protection against SARS-CoV-2.

Highlights

• Increases in HDL is associated with reduced risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.

• Type II diabetes and hemoglobin A1C levels were associated with elevated risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, but this effect was abrogated when controlling for HDL.

• Alcohol intake, specifically red wine intake, is associated with reduced risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, though this effect may in part be moderated by HDL.

• LDL and Triglycerides were not associated with increased risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.