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. 2020 Dec;23(6):316-321.
doi: 10.1017/thg.2020.85.

Self-Reported Symptoms of COVID-19, Including Symptoms Most Predictive of SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Are Heritable

Frances M K Williams  1 , Maxim B Freidin  1 , Massimo Mangino  1   2 , Simon Couvreur  1 , Alessia Visconti  1 , Ruth C E Bowyer  1 , Caroline I Le Roy  1 , Mario Falchi  1 , Olatz Mompeó  1 , Carole Sudre  3 , Richard Davies  4 , Christopher Hammond  1 , Cristina Menni  1 , Claire J Steves  1 , Tim D Spector  1
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Free article

Self-Reported Symptoms of COVID-19, Including Symptoms Most Predictive of SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Are Heritable

Frances M K Williams et al. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2020 Dec.
Free article

Abstract

Susceptibility to infection such as SARS-CoV-2 may be influenced by host genotype. TwinsUK volunteers (n = 3261) completing the C-19 COVID-19 symptom tracker app allowed classical twin studies of COVID-19 symptoms, including predicted COVID-19, a symptom-based algorithm to predict true infection, derived from app users tested for SARS-CoV-2. We found heritability of 49% (32-64%) for delirium; 34% (20-47%) for diarrhea; 31% (8-52%) for fatigue; 19% (0-38%) for anosmia; 46% (31-60%) for skipped meals and 31% (11-48%) for predicted COVID-19. Heritability estimates were not affected by cohabiting or by social deprivation. The results suggest the importance of host genetics in the risk of clinical manifestations of COVID-19 and provide grounds for planning genome-wide association studies to establish specific genes involved in viral infectivity and the host immune response.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; anosmia; heritability; twins.

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