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. 2020 Aug;42(4):1089-1092.
doi: 10.1007/s11357-020-00218-9. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

Elderly at time of COronaVIrus disease 2019 (COVID-19): possible role of immunosenescence and malnutrition

Leonardo Bencivenga  1   2 , Giuseppe Rengo  3   4 , Gilda Varricchi  1   5   6   7
Affiliations

Elderly at time of COronaVIrus disease 2019 (COVID-19): possible role of immunosenescence and malnutrition

Leonardo Bencivenga et al. Geroscience. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly and unpredictably evolving and the majority of deaths are occurring in older people. A partial description of the magnitude of the scenario is provided by numbers and statistics, which probably underestimate the ongoing tragedy. In the present opinion paper, we have focused our attention on the evidence of the relationship among malnutrition, immunosenescence, and the higher morbidity and mortality in elderly patients. In particular, we propose the intriguing hypothesis that correction of nutritional deficits may attenuate the age-dependent alterations of the innate and adaptive immune system which participate in the increased susceptibility and worse outcome observed in the elderly COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Elderly; Immunosenescence; Malnutrition; Pandemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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