The calculator determines the severity of suffering complications from COVID-19 to the point of hospitalization by analyzing factors such as age, physical activity and weight.
Scientists at 23andMe, a company specializing in genomics and biotechnology, developed a COVID-19 hospitalization risk calculator that includes several physical, ethnic and physical activity variables.
The company collected data from more than 1 million participants for the study, 10,000 of whom tested positive for COVID-19. And only 750 required hospitalization. However, the page does not explain how the selection process was carried out, nor does it represent data proportional to the population of any country. Nonetheless, the data were submitted by participants via a questionnaire and saliva samples for genomics research.
“We created the Severity Calculator because people who have visited 23andMe’s COVID-19 Information Center have consistently been asking for more information about the severity of the virus infection and what factors into why it impacts some people harder than others,” said Janie F. Shelton, PhD. Shelton, principal scientist at 23andMe.
To measure the risk of hospitalization for contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus and developing COVID-19, the platform requires age, gender, height and weight. As well as how often the patient exercises and health conditions including fatty liver, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Even ethnicity is important in the analysis, however, there is not enough data collected on estimating the percentage likelihood of hospitalization across all ethnicities.
The calculator site shares various data on the research generated, such as the importance of exercise in patients who did not develop the severe form of COVID-19. And the need to maintain weight in normal ranges.
In addition, the data collected were published in different studies of which publications already exist, such as the following: “Trans-ethnic analysis reveals genetic and non-genetic associations with COVID-19 susceptibility and severity”, which can be consulted at the following link: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.04.20188318v1
Roughly the study explains that using association over genomes they found a relationship between blood type and COVID-19 diagnosis, as well as a gene that is associated with disease severity. “Risk factors for hospitalization include advancing age, male sex, elevated body mass index, lower socio-economic status, non-European ancestry, and pre-existing cardio-metabolic and respiratory conditions,” the study explains.
You can access the tool at the following link https://you.23andme.com/covid19/
