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Case Reports
. 2021 Apr;33(4):1145-1147.
doi: 10.1007/s40520-021-01809-y. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Prevalence of COVID-19-related symptoms by age group

Brigid Unim  1 , Luigi Palmieri  2 , Cinzia Lo Noce  2 , Silvio Brusaferro  3 , Graziano Onder  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Prevalence of COVID-19-related symptoms by age group

Brigid Unim et al. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has caused over 95 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 2 million deaths worldwide. According to current literature data, older adults have higher risk of severe disease and mortality due to COVID-19. It is also known that older adults often do not present typical symptoms of diseases. The aim of the study was to assess if the prevalence of typical COVID-19-related symptoms varies by age group.

Methods: Medical charts of a random sample of COVID-19 patients dying in-hospital were retrieved through an integrated national surveillance system and reviewed by a group of researchers at the Italian National Institute of Health. Detailed information on COVID-19-related symptoms were extracted and analyzed.

Results: 3241 confirmed cases of COVID-19-related deaths were identified from 4391 reviewed medical charts. The mean number of COVID-19-related symptoms progressively declined with age, from 2.1 in patients aged < 60 years to 1.7 in those aged 90 years or older (p < 0.001). Moreover, fever, cough, and diarrhea significantly declined with increasing age.

Conclusions: Older adults have atypical presentation of symptoms and may be paucisymptomatic. This may lead to a diagnostic and therapeutic delay which aggravates the prognosis of COVID-19. Special attention should be posed when assessing individuals aged 65 years and older with suspected COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Older adults; SARS-CoV-2; Symptoms.

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Conflict of interest statement

No financial relationships with any organization that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of typical COVID-19-related symptoms by age group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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