COVID-19 mortality as a fingerprint of biological age (not chronological age)

COVID-19 mortality as a fingerprint of biological age. M. Cristina Polidori et al. Ageing Research Reviews, February 20 2021, 101308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2021.101308

Highlights

• Advanced age and comorbidity do not appear to justify alone COVID-19-related mortality and being 80 years old or older cannot be the basis for resource allocation.

• COVID-19 targets pathways and domains affected by the main aging- and frailty-related pathophysiological changes.

• A closer analysis of the existing data supports a possible role of biological age, rather than chronological age, in the prognosis of COVID-19.

• While further research on measuring biological age is performed, valid assessments of multidimensional frailty should be systematically implemented in routine diagnostic algorithms to quantify risk of COVID-19-related poor outcomes.

Abstract: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global emergency able to overwhelm the healthcare capacities worldwide and to affect the older generation especially. When addressing the pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical manifestations of COVID-19, it becomes evident that the disease targets pathways and domains affected by the main aging- and frailty-related pathophysiological changes. A closer analysis of the existing data supports a possible role of biological age rather than chronological age in the prognosis of COVID-19. There is a need for systematic, consequent action of identifying frail (not only older, not only multimorbid, not only symptomatic) persons at risk of poor outcomes in order to protect our oldest generation from COVID-19.

Keywords: Biological ageCorona virus disease 2019COVID-19FrailtySevere acute respiratory syndrome-corona virus 2SARS-CoV-2