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  • What We've Learned
What is the real risk of getting COVID-19, and how serious can it be, for British Columbians who are taking medications that affect their immune system?
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Scientific Study Title:
Risk and outcome of COVID-19 in patients exposed to immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents (IIA) in British Columbia. A population-based study.
Start Date:
  • July 2020
End Date:
  • June 2021
Research Category
Tags
J. Antonio Aviña-Zubieta, Research Team Member, Arthritis Research Canada
J. Antonio Aviña-Zubieta
Senior Scientist, Rheumatology, MD, MSc, PhD, FRCP
Jacek Kopec, Research Team Member, Arthritis Research Canada
Jacek Kopec
Senior Scientist Emeritus, Epidemiology, MD, MSc, PhD
Diane Lacaille-Website Headshot-400x400
Diane Lacaille
MDCM, MHSc, FRCPC, Scientific Director, Rheumatology
Hui Xie, Research Team Member, Arthritis Research Canada
Hui Xie
Senior Scientist, Biostatistics, BSc, MS, PhD
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Alison Hoens
Knowledge Broker, MSc, BScPT
Philippa - resized
Philippa Mennell
Member

Why did we do this research?

Reason For Research

Patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, organ transplant recipients, or those who take medications that suppress or modulate their immune system often worry about their risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. These factors may leave these groups more vulnerable to infections, raising concerns about higher risks of hospitalization, severe complications, or death.

Although COVID-19 cases in British Columbia (BC) are currently declining, seasonal waves or new variants could cause future surges. To prepare, it is important that we understand which groups of people are at higher risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 and how certain medications and/or conditions affect the severity of COVID-19.

What did we do?

Execution of Research

We conducted two studies, using administrative health records from British Columbia.

Study 1: We focused on people using medications called immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents (IIAs), such as certain drugs for autoimmune rheumatic diseases. We analyzed how these medications influenced the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes like hospitalization, ICU admission, or death. This study included records of more than 147,000 patients.

Study 2: We looked at people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases and organ transplant recipients to understand how their risk compared to others without these conditions. Records of 6279 patients with ARDs and 222 transplant recipients were included and compared with those from the general population.

Both studies used data from February 2020 to August 2021 and applied statistical methods to account for differences between patients (such as age or pre-existing health conditions).

The Research Team

Bonnie Corradetti

Peter Malone

Cheryl L. Koehn

Philippa Mennell

Who Funded This Research?

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

Related Publications

  • Marozoff S, Tan J, Lu N, et al. Effect of Immunosuppressive or Immunomodulatory Agents on Severe COVID-19 Outcomes: A Population-Based Cohort Study. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2023;5(12):685-693. doi:10.1002/acr2.11620
  • Marozoff S, Lu N, Loree JM, et al. Severe COVID-19 outcomes among patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases or transplantation: a population-based matched cohort study. BMJ Open 2022;12:doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062404

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