Abstract
COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCov is a pandemic disease that occurred in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. It was first transmitted from the animal host to a human source, after which it followed human-human transmission and spread exponentially worldwide. Various countries have fallen prey to this virus, but there are certain countries or populations, which have been more affected by this than others. Moreover, the demographics of transmission and affected individuals are also variable from country-country. The purpose of this article is to highlight the non-modifiable risk factors for COVID-19 and their analysis in various populations affecting their susceptibility. Besides age, gender, and blood group, two major genetic factors associated with this disease are discussed here, including the potential of IL-6, in causing chronic disease conditions and the rs1800795 G/C-174 IL-6 polymorphism in the IL-6 gene and with the potential role of ACE-2 receptor in viral transmission and pathogenicity with its protective and disease-causing variants.
Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, genetic susceptibility, ACE gene, IL-6, presentation of COVID, severity of COVID.
Graphical Abstract