Studies have shown that breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections are more likely to occur in patients with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Cases A breakthrough COVID-19 case leading to infection, hospitalization, and death is highly likely in patients with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, according to two new studies by researchers at the University of Western Reserve School of Medicine.

Researchers have explained that people with these diseases are generally more susceptible to infections and are also most vulnerable to the serious health consequences of COVID-19 infections. The study was conducted because the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic exceeded one million.

Survey of breakthrough infection rates in cancer patients

First recently published study Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) OncologyElectronic health records were analyzed to track breakthrough COVID infections, hospitalizations, and mortality in cancer vaccinated patients.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a “breakthrough infection” is when a fully vaccinated person becomes infected with COVID.

The research team has 12 most common types of cancer: lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, liver cancer, endometrial cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, and blood cancer. We counted people who were diagnosed with cancer. These participants were vaccinated with COVID-19 between December 2020 and November 2021 and were previously uninfected. The control group consisted of cancer-free vaccinated participants.

Researchers compared breakthrough COVID-19 infections between cancer and non-cancer participants and matched comorbidities, health, age, gender social determinants, and other demographics. .. The team analyzed records of more than 636,000 vaccinated patients, including more than 45,000 cancer vaccinated people.

This study found that the risk of breakthrough infection with COVID-19 was significantly increased in vaccinated cancer patients, especially those receiving aggressive cancer treatment, and varied significantly depending on the type of cancer. Shown. “

Rong Xu, a professor of biomedical informatics at the Faculty of Medicine and co-author of the study

Co-authors of the study include David Kaelber, a professor of medicine and chief medical informatics officer at Metro Health System.

The team found:

• The overall risk of a breakthrough COVID infection in people vaccinated with cancer was 13.6%, compared to 4.9% in people vaccinated without cancer.
• The highest risk of breakthrough infections was pancreatic cancer in 24.7%, liver cancer in 22.8%, lung cancer in 20.4%, and colorectal cancer in 17.5%.
• Cancers with a low risk of breakthrough infections include 10.3% of the thyroid gland, 11.9% of the endometrium, and 11.9% of the breast.
• The overall risk of hospitalization after a breakthrough infection was 31.6% in study participants with cancer, compared with 3.9% in participants without cancer.
• The risk of death after a breakthrough infection was 6.7%, compared with 1.3% in cancer-free patients.

“Breakthrough infections in cancer patients have been associated with a significant and substantial risk of hospitalization and death. These results are especially due to the appearance of various viral variants and weakened vaccine immunity in cancer patients. It emphasizes the need to maintain mitigation measures. ” Xu and co-author of the study, Nathan Berger, Professor Hannah Payne of Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine.

Health Outcomes of Alzheimer’s Disease Patients After COVID Infection

In a second, another medical school study, researchers analyzed electronic health data to determine the incidence of breakthrough COVID-19 infections in people diagnosed with several subtypes of dementia. .. The study was recently published in a journal, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia..

Researchers breakthrough COVID-19 in dementia patients because the vaccine is effective, but breakthrough infections can occur, and elderly people with dementia were underestimated in clinical trials of the vaccine. I chose to look at data about the case.

For example, in a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine clinical trial, the median age of 37,706 participants was 52 years, and the study included only 18 people with dementia, or 0.05%.

Researchers investigated anonymous electronic health data from more than 262,847 adults aged 65 and over who were vaccinated between December 2020 and August 2021. Of that number, 2,764 were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. 1,244 with vascular dementia, 259 with Lewy body dementia, 229 with frontotemporal dementia, and 4,385 with mild cognitive impairment.

The researchers compared the overall risk of breakthrough infections in patients vaccinated against dementia with those without dementia.

Patients vaccinated against dementia are at overall risk of breakthrough infections ranging from 10.3% of Alzheimer’s disease to 14.3% of Lewy body dementias and are vaccinated without dementia. It was significantly higher than 5.6% of the elderly who received it.

“Patients with dementia have a significantly higher post-vaccination breakthrough COVID infection rate than patients of the same age, and there are risk factors other than dementia,” said Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin, a research professor at the School of Medicine. One Pamela Davis said. “Therefore, continuous vigilance is needed after vaccination to protect this vulnerable population. Caregivers need continuous masking and social distance to protect these individuals, and additional vaccines. Should be considered. “