Oxidative DNA Damage in Relation to the Severity of COVID-19 Infection in Duhok City, Kurdistan Region- Iraq

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread across the globe since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in 2019. Clinical evidence suggests higher oxidative stress in COVID-19 patients, and this worsening redox status which may contribute to disease progression. The present study aimed to investigate the oxidative Deoxyribonucleic acid damage in patients with mild and severe COVID-19 infection and to evaluate its relationship to the disease progression and severity. A case-control study was conducted from September 2021 to January 2022 in Duhok city, Kurdistan Region-Iraq. 180 individuals have participated. Among 88 COVID-19 cases, 92 healthy volunteers as the control group, with ages ranging (18-45) years. Patients were divided into two groups according to the severity of infection (mild cases, severe cases). Serum level of 8-OHdG and malondialdehyde (MDA) were assessed as oxidative stress biomarkers. Serum levels of 8-OHdG were considerably higher in patients with COVID-19 infection in comparison to the control group, (p<0.01). The further statistical analysis has revealed a significantly higher 8-OHdG in blood in female cases with severe COVID-19 infection compared cases with a mild infection, (p<0.01). Serum MDA levels in severe cases were higher, statistically significant when compared with the control group (p=0.007). Severe cases had higher level of MDA than in mild case, in male cases (p<0.05) in female cases (p<0.0001).  The current data suggest that patients who were infected severely with COVID-19 are under huge oxidative stress attack. Analysis of data shows that severe cases of COVID-19 infection had significantly greater level of serum 8-OHdG than in healthy control subjects.