The Influence of HLA Polymorphisms on the Severity of COVID-19 in the Romanian Population.

In this study, we aimed to investigate whether specific HLA alleles found in patients from Romania and the Republic of Moldova were associated with the severity of COVID-19 infection and its associated mortality. We analyzed the HLA alleles at the -A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 loci in a cohort of 130 individuals with severe and extremely severe forms of COVID-19, including 44 individuals who died. We compared these findings to a control group consisting of individuals who had either not been diagnosed with COVID-19 or had experienced mild forms of the disease. Using multivariate logistic regression models, we discovered that the B27 and B50 alleles were associated with an increased susceptibility to developing a severe form of COVID-19. The A33 and C15 alleles showed potential for offering protection against the disease. Furthermore, we identified two protective alleles (A03 and DQB102) against the development of extremely severe forms of COVID-19. By utilizing score statistics, we established a statistically significant association between haplotypes and disease severity ( = 0.021). In summary, this study provides evidence that HLA genotype plays a role in influencing the clinical outcome of COVID-19 infection.