Importance of sex and gender factors for COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation: a sex-stratified analysis using machine learning in UK Biobank data.
BMJ Open
; 12(5): e050450, 2022 05 18.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1950128
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To examine sex and gender roles in COVID-19 test positivity and hospitalisation in sex-stratified predictive models using machine learning.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.SETTING:
UK Biobank prospective cohort.PARTICIPANTS:
Participants tested between 16 March 2020 and 18 May 2020 were analysed. MAIN OUTCOMEMEASURES:
The endpoints of the study were COVID-19 test positivity and hospitalisation. Forty-two individuals' demographics, psychosocial factors and comorbidities were used as likely determinants of outcomes. Gradient boosting machine was used for building prediction models.RESULTS:
Of 4510 individuals tested (51.2% female, mean age=68.5±8.9 years), 29.4% tested positive. Males were more likely to be positive than females (31.6% vs 27.3%, p=0.001). In females, living in more deprived areas, lower income, increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio, working night shifts and living with a greater number of family members were associated with a higher likelihood of COVID-19 positive test. While in males, greater body mass index and LDL to HDL ratio were the factors associated with a positive test. Older age and adverse cardiometabolic characteristics were the most prominent variables associated with hospitalisation of test-positive patients in both overall and sex-stratified models.CONCLUSION:
High-risk jobs, crowded living arrangements and living in deprived areas were associated with increased COVID-19 infection in females, while high-risk cardiometabolic characteristics were more influential in males. Gender-related factors have a greater impact on females; hence, they should be considered in identifying priority groups for COVID-19 infection vaccination campaigns.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Cardiovascular Diseases
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bmjopen-2021-050450
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