Prevalence of COVID-19-related symptoms by age group

Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has caused over 95 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 2 million deaths worldwide. According to current literature data, older adults have higher risk of severe disease and mortality due to COVID-19. It is also known that older adults often do not present typical symptoms of diseases. The aim of the study was to assess if the prevalence of typical COVID-19-related symptoms varies by age group. Methods Medical charts of a random sample of COVID-19 patients dying in-hospital were retrieved through an integrated national surveillance system and reviewed by a group of researchers at the Italian National Institute of Health. Detailed information on COVID-19-related symptoms were extracted and analyzed. Results 3241 confirmed cases of COVID-19-related deaths were identified from 4391 reviewed medical charts. The mean number of COVID-19-related symptoms progressively declined with age, from 2.1 in patients aged