Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38462476›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health and preventive medicine2024

Asian flush is a potential protective factor against COVID-19: a web-based retrospective survey in Japan.

Satoshi Takashima, Mikiko Tokiya, Katsura Izui, Hiroshi Miyamoto, Akiko Matsumoto

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health and preventive medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Satoshi TakashimaDepartment of Social and Environmental Medicine, Saga University.
Mikiko TokiyaDepartment of Social and Environmental Medicine, Saga University.
Katsura IzuiGraduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University.
Hiroshi MiyamotoDepartment of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University.
Akiko MatsumotoDepartment of Social and Environmental Medicine, Saga University.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8445-4071
Saga University · JPKyoto University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first reported in December 2019, spread worldwide in a short period, resulting in numerous cases and associated deaths; however, the toll was relatively low in East Asia. A genetic polymorphism unique to East Asians, Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 rs671, has been reported to confer protection against infections.

methodWe retrospectively investigated the association between the surrogate marker of the rs671 variant, the skin flushing phenomenon after alcohol consumption, and the timing of COVID-19 incidence using a web-based survey tool to test any protective effects of rs671 against COVID-19.

resultsA total of 807 valid responses were received from 362 non-flushers and 445 flushers. During the 42 months, from 12/1/2019 to 5/31/2023, 40.6% of non-flushers and 35.7% of flushers experienced COVID-19. Flushers tended to have a later onset (Spearman's partial rank correlation test, p = 0.057, adjusted for sex and age). Similarly, 2.5% of non-flushers and 0.5% of flushers were hospitalized because of COVID-19. Survival analysis estimated lower risks of COVID-19 and associated hospitalization among flushers (p = 0.03 and <0.01, respectively; generalized Wilcoxon test). With the Cox proportional hazards model covering 21 months till 8/31/2021, when approximately half of the Japanese population had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of COVID-19 incidence was estimated to be 0.21 (0.10-0.46) for flusher versus non-flusher, with adjustment for sex, age, steroid use, and area of residence.

conclusionsOur study suggests an association between the flushing phenomenon after drinking and a decreased risk of COVID-19 morbidity and hospitalization, suggesting that the rs671 variant is a protective factor. This study provides valuable information for infection control and helps understand the unique constitutional diversity of East Asians.

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingCOVID-19Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, MitochondrialCOVID-19 VaccinesFlushingHumansInternetJapanProtective FactorsRetrospective StudiesAldehyde Dehydrogenase, MitochondrialCOVID-19 VaccinesALDH2Asian flushCOVID-19rs671

Identifiers

PMID38462476
PMCPMC10937249
OpenAlexW4392608085

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.