COVID-19 Mortality Risk in Down Syndrome: Results from a Cohort Study of 8 Million Adults
In this study, researchers compared risk factor for death from COVID-19 by doing an analysis of individual-level data in a cohort study of 8 million adults in the U.K. Their primary outcome of interest was COVID-19 mortality within 28 days of a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.
After adjusting for age and sex, ethnicity, BMI, care home residency, congenital heart disease, and a range of other comorbid conditions the researchers, found that folks with Down Syndrome had a 10 times higher risk of death if diagnosed with COVID-19.
As you interpret the study, keep in mind this this result is after age adjustment. Far and away the dominant risk factor for dying from COVID-19 is age, even among those with Down syndrome. Think of it this way. A 26-year-old man with Down syndrome starts out with a case fatality rate of that of a typical 26 year-old. You’d then factor in an additional 10-fold increased risk.
A 26-year-old typical male would have an approximately 1/100,000 case fatality ratio (CFR) from COVID-19. A 26-year-old person with DS would then have a CFR of 1/10,000.
Compare that however, to a pair of 50-year-old males. The CFR starts out at approximately a 1/10,000. The peer with Down’s syndrome would have a CFR of 1/1,000.
For perspective, an 80-year-old male has a CFR of about 1/200. Here’s the article where I retrieved the case fatality ratios.
