Researchers in Italy say their study of patients infected with COVID-19 demonstrates that those with certain genetic abnormalities attributed to Neanderthal heritage were considerably more likely to have severe symptoms needing hospitalization according to The Wall Street Journal. Italian researchers discovered that those having Neanderthal gene variations were more likely to be hospitalized. According to the study, the variations are a “major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.”
The researchers, affiliated with the nonprofit Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, stated in the journal iScience that they investigated the DNA of over 1,200 volunteers in the Bergamo area, which was especially heavily struck in the early days of the pandemic. They discovered that the “Neanderthal haplotype,” a set of genetic variants connected with the human ancestor, is “the major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.”
Those with the Neanderthal haplotype were twice as likely to acquire severe pneumonia and three times as likely to wind up on a ventilator in an intensive-care unit, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other research has suggested a relationship between health and Neanderthal DNA. A study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution in June found a relationship between Neanderthal DNA and Dupuytren’s illness. In March, a study published in Nature discovered a link between Neanderthals heritage and an increased risk of a severe immune response, or cytokine storm, caused by COVID-19 infection.
