On May 26, 2020, researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and the UConn School of Medicine analyzed data from the UK Biobank, and found a high risk of severe COVID-19 infection among participants of European ancestry who carry two faulty copies of the APOE gene (termed e4e4). One in 36 people of European ancestry have two faulty copies of this gene, and this is known to increase risks of Alzheimerﾒs disease up to 14-fold and also increases the risk of heart disease.

The research team has found that carrying these gene mutations doubles the risks of COVID-19 ﾖ even in people who had not developed these diseases.