Having a faulty gene linked to dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19, according to a large-scale study.
Researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and the UConn School of Medicine analyzed data from the UK Biobank, and found a high risk of severe COVID-19 infection among participants of European ancestry who carry two faulty copies of the APOE gene (termed e4e4).
The team has previously found that people with dementia are three times more likely to get severe COVID-19.