Association of the C allele of rs479200 in the EGLN1 gene with COVID-19 severity in Indian population: a novel finding

Abstract

Abstract The present study investigated two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)—rs479200 and rs516651 in the host EGLN1/PHD2 gene for their association with COVID-19 severity. A retrospective cohort of 158 COVID-19 patients from the Indian population (March 2020 to June 2021) was enrolled. Notably, the frequency of C allele (0.664) was twofold higher than T allele (0.336) in severe COVID-19 patients. Here, we report a novel finding that the C allele of rs479200 in the EGLN1 gene imparts a high risk of severe COVID-19 (odds ratio—6.214 (1.84–20.99) p = 0.003; 9.421 (2.019–43.957) p = 0.004), in additive inheritance model (adjusted and unadjusted, respectively).

Keywords

• EGLN1 gene
• COVID-19
• Hypoxia
• rs479200
• rs516651
• Host genetic factors