Haemoglobin (Hb) Genotype Profile in COVID-19 Disease Susceptibility and Severity in Lagos State Nigeria

Abstract

COVID‐19 pandemic has posed unique challenges to the health providers involved with chronic diseases like Haemoglobin disorders (sickle cell disease). Therefore, this study highlights the susceptibility and severity of COVID‐19 associated with normal and haemoglobin variants. This study is a case series that includes patients evaluated between June and August 30, 2020, and diagnosed with COVID-19 by the Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction method. Alkaline haemoglobin electrophoresis was used to identify types of Haemoglobin genotype associated with mild-to-severe cases of COVID-19. A total of 697 COVID-19 patients were included in this study, with a mean age of 41.32 (12.917). There were more males (66.1%) than females. The most frequently detected genotype was AA (75.8%), followed by AS (22%). Severe conditions of COVID-19 were present in patients with HBAC 2(14.28%) and HBAS 13 (8.5%). Co-morbidities were present in (24.0%) of the patients, with a mortality rate of 1.3%. Patients with pneumonia in association with other co-morbidities are 26 times more likely to have severe SARS CoV-2 than those with only pneumonia, irrespective of their haemoglobin genotype profile. The clinical course is seen in normal haemoglobin, and the variant with COVID-19 was the same. It is suggested that people with haemoglobin variant are not at increased risk during COVID-19 infection or risk of a sickle cell crisis.