AUTHOR=Mahallawi Waleed H. , Alsamiri Ali Dakhilallah , Dabbour Alaa Faisal , Alsaeedi Hamdah , Al-Zalabani Abdulmohsen H. 

TITLE=Association of Viral Load in SARS-CoV-2 Patients With Age and Gender

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.608215

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.608215

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global public health emergency. Age and sex are two important factors associated with risks and outcomes of various diseases. COVID-19 morbidity also seems to be affected by patient age and sex. It has been found that older age groups have more severe COVID-19 symptoms and higher fatality rates while children tend to have lower prevalence and milder symptoms than adults.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> The study reviewed electronic medical records of COVID-19 patients from Madinah city, Saudi Arabia. The study included all cases who tested positive (<italic>n</italic> = 3,006) between March 20 and May 22, 2020. Data were obtained from the Health Electronic Surveillance Network (HESN) database.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Approximately 80% of the study sample were males and half were in the 30–40-year-old age group. The Ct value of the whole sample ranged from 15.08 to 35, with a mean of 27.44 (SD: 5.23; 95% C.I. = 27.25–27.66). The means of Ct values varied between age groups from 27.05 to 27.82. Analysis of the mean differences between age groups using one-way ANOVA indicated no statistically significant difference among the groups (F<sub>6,2999</sub> = 1.63; <italic>p</italic>-value = 0.135). A comparison of mean Ct values of males (<italic>n</italic> = 2,422) and females (<italic>n</italic> = 584) revealed that males had a statistically significant higher mean Ct value (27.61 ± 5.20) than females (26.72 ± 5.31). The difference between the means of the two groups was −0.89 (95% C.I. = −1.36 to −0.42; <italic>t</italic>-test −3.71; df = 3,004; <italic>p</italic>-value &lt; 0.001).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The study found no statistically significant difference in viral loads between age groups. It showed that females had a higher SARS-CoV-2 viral load compared to males. The findings have implications for preventive strategies. Further studies are needed to correlate viral load with clinical symptoms and outcomes.</p>