Comparison of COVID-19 Outcomes With Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Prevalence in Europe: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction We hypothesized that the geographic distributions of COVID-19 and alpha-1 antitrypsin alleles prevalence are similar. We investigate whether there is a relationship between the geographical density of the COVID-19 pandemic and the distributions of alpha-1 antitrypsin alleles. Methods This research is a cross-sectional study. Alpha-1 antitrypsin PI*MS, PI*MZ, PI*SS, PI*SZ, and PI*ZZ genotypes frequencies of European countries were compared with the case and death data related to the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 1, 2022. Results A significant relationship was found between the rates of COVID-19 cases and the rates of individuals with alpha-1 antitrypsin PI*MS, PI*MZ, PI*SS, PI*SZ, and PI*ZZ genotypes allele in European countries. Conclusions The findings showed that the prevalence distribution of the alleles of the gene defect that causes alpha-1 antitrypsin insufficiency is related to the prevalence of COVID-19 pandemic data.