Inborn errors of immunity are associated with increased COVID-19–related hospitalization and intensive care compared to the general population

• Published in: Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2024-10
• Main Authors: Lindahl, Hannes, Kahn, Fredrik, Nilsdotter-Augustinsson, Åsa, Fredrikson, Mats, Hedberg, Pontus, Killander Möller, Isabela, Hansson, Lotta, Blixt, Lisa, Eketorp Sylvan, Sandra, Österborg, Anders, Aleman, Soo, Carlander, Christina, Nyström, Sofia, Bergman, Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: cohort study; COVID-19; hospitalization; Inborn errors of immunity; intensive care; population controls
• ISSN: 0091-6749; 1097-6825; 1097-6825
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2024.10.013

It is thought that patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are more susceptible to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population, but a quantification of this potential risk is largely missing. We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on patients with IEI. A nationwide cohort study was performed to estimate the relative risk (RR) for hospitalization, intensive care, and death within 30 days after a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test result in an IEI population (n = 2392) compared to the general population (n = 8,270,705) using data from Swedish national registries. Three time periods were studied: the prevaccination period, and the Alpha/Delta and Omicron periods. Adjustment was made for demographics, income, comorbidities, and vaccination status. During the prevaccination period, 25.2% of the IEI population was hospitalized, compared to 17.5% and 5.2% during the Alpha/Delta and Omicron periods, respectively. For the 3 time periods, the adjusted RR [95% confidence interval] for hospitalization in the IEI population compared to the general population was 3.1 [2.1-4.2], 3.5 [2.4-4.8], and 4.3 [2.5-6.7], respectively. The respective values for intensive care after COVID-19 were 5.6 [2.6-10.8], 4.7 [1.7-10.1], and 4.7 [1.7-10.1] for the 3 periods. Five patients (0.6%) in the IEI population died within 30 days of a positive PCR test result compared to 18,773 (0.2%) in the general population during the 3 study periods. Patients with IEI had a 3 to 4 times higher risk for hospitalization and a 5 times higher risk for intensive care during COVID-19 compared to the general population.