Potential associations of selected polymorphic genetic variants with COVID-19 disease susceptibility and severity

In this study, we analyzed the potential associations of selected laboratory and anamnestic parameters, as well as 12 genetic polymorphisms (SNPs), with clinical COVID-19 occurrence and severity in 869 hospitalized patients. The SNPs analyzed by qPCR were selected based on population-wide genetic (GWAS) data previously indicating association with the severity of COVID-19. We confirmed the associations of disease with several clinical laboratory and anamnestic parameters and found an unexpected association between less severe disease and the loss of smell and taste. In most cases, selected SNP analysis supported earlier results by indicating genetic associations with hospitalization and disease severity, while the potential role of some previously unrecognized polymorphisms has also been observed. A genetic association was indicated between the presence of a reduced-function ABCG2 transporter variant and a less severe disease, which was also observed in diabetic patients. Our current results, which should be reinforced by larger studies, indicate that together with laboratory and anamnestic parameters, genetic polymorphisms may have predictive value for the clinical occurrence and severity of COVID-19. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This research was supported by the Post-COVID Research Program of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (PC2022-7/2022, Balazs Sarkadi.); project no. KDP-1017403, O.M., has been implemented with support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the KDP-2020 funding scheme. Project K-128011 (Gy. V.) has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund. This research was also supported by NKFIH OTKA grants (K131996 and K147265) to PH and the University of Pecs Medical School Research Fund (300909) to AS. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This project was carried out with the ethical permission of 24004-7/2021/EihO, issued on 7 May 2021, by the NNK Hungary - ETT TUKEB and 20800-6/2020/EUIG, issued on 5 May 2020, by the NNK Hungary - ETT TUKEB. Informed consent was obtained from all the subjects involved in the study. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request. The anonymized data for the anamnestic and clinical laboratory data, as well as those of the genetic analyses are available in the data repository upon request.