Centenarians exposed to the Spanish flu in their early life better survived to COVID-19.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although it is known that mortality due to COVID-19 increases progressively with age, the probability of dying from this serious infection among the oldest-old population is little known, and controversial data are found in literature.

Methods

We examine the mortality by year and month of birth of Belgians who had turned 100 during the current COVID-19 pandemic and whose birth fell on the years around the end the First World War and the outbreak of the H1N1 "Spanish flu" pandemic.

Findings

The COVID-19 mortality of the "older" centenarians is significantly lower than that of "younger" centenarians, and this difference between the two groups reaches a maximum on August 1, 1918 as the discriminating cut-off date of birth. Having excluded the plausible impact

SUBMITTER: Poulain M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8507269 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature