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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1525051
This article is part of the Research Topic Research Advances and Challenges in Emerging and Re-Emerging Viral Diseases View all 12 articles

Age-related immune response disparities between adults and children with severe COVID-19: A case-control study in China

Provisionally accepted
Hongliang Chen Hongliang Chen 1Yuan Li Yuan Li 1Liping Yuan Liping Yuan 1Fen Liu Fen Liu 2Qian Sun Qian Sun 1Qingkai Luo Qingkai Luo 2Yefei Lei Yefei Lei 2Yinglan Hou Yinglan Hou 2Jiayan Li Jiayan Li 2Liang Cai Liang Cai 3Shixing Tang Shixing Tang 1*
  • 1 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
  • 2 The First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China
  • 3 Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha, Hunan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background Elucidation of immune response differences is critical for uncovering the mechanism and developing intervention measures among adults and children with COVID-19. Methods We retrospectively analyzed serum biochemical markers and cytokine profiles among adult and child COVID-19 patients in the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou in Hunan, China from December 1, 2022 to February 13, 2023. A case-control study was conducted by using propensity score matching (PSM) to mitigate possible confounding factors. Results The major differences were lymphocyte exhaustion, increased neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NEU/LYM) ratio and high level of C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as cytokine storm, i.e. high level of Th1 pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in the lung among severe adult COVID-19 patients while systemic immune responses were observed among children COVID-19 patients. Conclusion Significant differences in immune responses between adult and children COVID-19 patients highlight the different mechanism and potential intervention measures of COVID-19.

    Keywords: COVID-19, cytokine, Cytokine storm, Inflammatory Response, case-control study

    Received: 08 Nov 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Li, Yuan, Liu, Sun, Luo, Lei, Hou, Li, Cai and Tang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shixing Tang, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, Guangdong Province, China

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