Shorter telomere length is associated with COVID-19 hospitalization and with persistence of radiographic lung abnormalities

Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and long-term evolution after discharge

Variables	n = 251
Age	49 [7–96]^a
Gender, female	102 (40.6)
Any Comorbidity	98 (39)
Obesity	61 (24.8)
Hypertension	53 (21.2)
Cardiovascular disease^b	13 (5.2)
Respiratory disease^c	25 (10)
Cancer	15 (6)
Dementia	4 (1.6)
Number of comorbidities	0 [0–1]
Charlson Comorbidity index	0 [0–2]
Radiographic pneumonia	237 (94.4)
Laboratory tests
C reactive protein (mg/dL)	9 [0.05–60.4]
Neutrophils (cells/μL)	5.100 [900–14.800]
Lymphocytes (cells/μL)	1.000 [200–4.700]
D-dimer (μg/L)	711 [172–9.300]
Ferritin (μg/L)	906 [7.9–11.410]
WHO Ordinal Scale^d
3	95 (37.8)
4	81 (32.3)
5	27 (10.8)
6	13 (5.2)
7	15 (5.9)
8	21 (8.4)
COVID-19 Therapy
Remdesivir	6 (2.4)
Tocilizumab	68 (27)
Anakinra	4 (1.6)
Steroids	106 (42.6)
Post-COVID manifestations^e
Persistent symptoms	97 (67.4)
Systemic	70 (48.6)
Dyspnea	65 (45.1)
Musculoskeletal	10 (6.9)
Neuro-psychiatric	44 (30.6)
Dermatological	9 (6.6)
Genitourinary	3 (2.1)
Persistent radiographic abnormalities	54 (48.6)^f
Persistent respiratory failure	9 (6.3)

^aValues represent n (%) or median [IQR]
^bHeart attack, stroke, peripheral arterial disease
^cAsthma, COPD, OSAHS, lung hypertension
^dWorld Health Organization (WHO) Scale: 0–2 ambulatory; 3 Hospitalized no oxygen therapy; 4 Oxygen by mask or nasal prongs; 5 Non-invasive ventilation or high-flow oxygen; 6 Intubation and mechanical ventilation; 7 Ventilation and additional organ support; 8 Death
^ePersistent clinical signs and symptoms after COVID-19 for more than 12 weeks (Median follow-up 231[132, 277] days
^fRadiographic control was performed at 3 or more months after discharge in 166 patients

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