SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2020
The Age-Related Risk of Severe Outcomes Due to COVID-19 Infection: A Rapid Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 130 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
130 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Genetic and Epigenetic Determinants of COVID-19 Susceptibility: A Systematic Review.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Pooled it
- Concomitant Guillain-Barré Syndrome and COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis of Cases.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- The isolated effect of age on the risk of COVID-19 severe outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Pre-existing health conditions and severe COVID-19 outcomes: an umbrella review approach and meta-analysis of global evidence.BMC medicine · 2021Pooled it
- The Effect of Ambient Environmental Conditions on COVID-19 Mortality: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Rapid Review on the Associations of Social and Geographical Isolation and Intimate Partner Violence: Implications for the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Can we predict the severe course of COVID-19 - a systematic review and meta-analysis of indicators of clinical outcome?PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Age-Dependent Relationships Between Disease Risk and Testosterone Levels: Relevance to COVID-19 Disease.American journal of men's healthPooled it
- Life's Essential 8 and Risk of Severe COVID-19 Among Adults Without Clinical Cardiovascular Disease: The C4R Study.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Article
- Colorectal cancer incidence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a non-linear interrupted time-series analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Explainable machine learning-based mortality risk stratification for older adults with COVID-19: pinpointing core immunological biomarkers and revealing dose-threshold effects.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Spatial and temporal patterns of SARS-CoV-2 infection in uMgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.PloS one · 2026Article
- Article
- Coproducing COVID-19 Health Information Resources: A Participatory Study With Older Adults From Minoritised Ethnic Communities in the UK.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- SARS-CoV-2 infection risk by non-healthcare occupations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2025Review
- Factors associated with death from COVID-19 in traditional peoples and communities in Brazil.PloS one · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emergency transportation of older patients: a population-based descriptive study in Osaka prefecture, Japan.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- A Narrative Review of Key Risk Factors for Severe Illness Following SARS-CoV-2, Influenza Virus, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2025Review
- Disparities in age and gender-specific SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing trends: a retrospective study from Pakistan.BMC public health · 2024Article
70 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Increased age appears to be a strong risk factor for COVID-19 severe outcomes. However, studies do not sufficiently consider the age-dependency of other important factors influencing the course of disease. The aim of this review was to quantify the isolated effect of age on severe COVID-19 outcomes. We searched Pubmed to find relevant studies published in 2020. Two independent reviewers evaluated them using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We extracted the results and assessed seven domains of bias for each study. After adjusting for important age-related risk factors, the isolated effect of age was estimated using meta-regression. Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria: four studies for COVID-19 disease severity, seven for mortality, and one for admission to ICU. The crude effect of age (5.2% and 13.4% higher risk of disease severity and death per age year, respectively) substantially decreased when adjusting for important age-dependent risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease/cerebrovascular disease, compromised immunity, previous respiratory disease, renal disease). Adjusting for all six comorbidities indicates a 2.7% risk increase for disease severity (two studies), and no additional risk of death per year of age (five studies). The indication of a rather weak influence of age on COVID-19 disease severity after adjustment for important age-dependent risk factors should be taken in consideration when implementing age-related preventative measures (e.g., age-dependent work restrictions).
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