The Impact of Comorbidities on COVID-19 Severity and Mortality in Egypt

Abstract

Background Older persons and people of any age with certain underlying comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease, and cancer are at a higher risk of severe disease course and death if they become infected with COVID-19. Identifying at-risk groups and risk factors for COVID-19 severity and mortality is important for guiding the efficient and appropriate prevention and management of patients with COVID-19. Objective This study aimed at describing the demographics and epidemiologic characteristics of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Egypt and determining the impact of different comorbidities on patients’ outcomes. Methods The data of all confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to 408 governmental hospitals all over Egypt from February to May 2020 were collected retrospectively from the National Egyptian Disease Surveillance System. The cases were confirmed using RT-PCR. Results Overall, 28,415 patients (55% male and 45% female) were identified. Their median age was 44 years. Of those, 743 (2.6%) were admitted to ICU, 408 (1.4%) required ventilator, and 1045 (3.7%) died. Of the 21,617 (76.1%) patients with completed data, 4687 (21.7%) had comorbidities. Overall, 11.8% had diabetes, 5.3% cardiovascular disease, and 4.3% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Those who had 1 comorbidity were more likely to die (odds ratio 2.83), were admitted to ICU (odds ratio 6.36), and needed a ventilator (odds ratio 5.95) compared to patients with no comorbidities. Having multiple comorbidities increased the risk of mortality (odds ratio 3.53), ICU admission (odds ratio 8.62), and requiring a ventilator (odds ratio 9.06). Conclusions COVID-19 patients with comorbidities had a higher risk of disease severity and mortality. Multiple comorbidities further increase the risk to a higher extent. All necessary precautions should be taken for patients with comorbidities to avoid COVID-19 infection in order to prevent the worst prognosis.

Risk Factors Associated with Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 during the Omicron Wave in Brazil

“…Patients with comorbid conditions are highly correlated to a higher risk of death among hospitalized individuals (OR 1.418; 95% CI 1.355–1.483), and the consequences are more severe if the patient has multiple comorbidities [ 42 , 43 ]. Other studies in the specialized literature point out diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity [ 44 , 45 , 46 ] as the comorbidities with the highest risk of mortality from COVID-19.…”

Description of health patterns of fully vaccinated older adults hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Brazil through association rules

“…SpO2<95%, dyspnea, use of invasive ventilatory support, and the presence of comorbidity are predominant among the association rules for patients admitted to the ICU and those who died, with confidence above 60%. The clinical conditions of symptoms are related to an increased risk of severity and mortality (Elghazaly et al, 2022). When admission to the ICU is reported concomitantly with use of invasive ventilatory support and death, the confidence was equal to 90%.…”