TY - JOUR
T1 - Risk of COVID-19 among patients with respiratory illnesses and comorbidities at Eastern Province of Sri Lanka
T2 - A retrospective study
AU - Razmy, Athambawa Mohamed
AU - Rahman, Ahamed Lebbe Failur
AU - Lazarus, Eilean Rathinasamy
AU - Rajab, Thuvan Raheem
AU - Ilahi, Mohamed Meerasahib Maroosathul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/1/1
Y1 - 2024/1/1
N2 - Background: There is a general belief that patients with comorbidities have a higher risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and subsequent death. However, there are significant gaps in understanding these risks. Objective: The study aimed to assess the risk of COVID-19 among respiratory illness patients admitted to the hospital with comorbidities. Method: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a hospital in Sri Lanka, where the records of 428 patients with respiratory illness were studied for COVID-19 infection and comorbidities from 2020 to 2022. Results: In this sample, 67.1% had been infected with COVID-19 and 51.6% had comorbidities. The age group ≥60 years had two times higher risk for comorbidities, and the most frequently occurring condition was hypertension (58.8%). Surprisingly, the infection rate of COVID-19 among patients with comorbidities was 28% lower compared to patients with no comorbidities, but the odds ratio (OR) for dying was greater once the patient with comorbidities was infected with COVID-19 (OR = 7.5). An increased risk of death was observed for COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus (OR = 2), hypertension (OR = 2.5), heart diseases (OR = 4.3), and renal diseases (OR = 2.4). Conclusion: It was surprising to find that the infection rate and risk of death due to COVID-19 were lower among patients with chronic lung diseases. This could be due to early death at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, less hospital admissions for patients with chronic lung diseases, or resistance to COVID-19, and these are factors that require further exploration.
AB - Background: There is a general belief that patients with comorbidities have a higher risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and subsequent death. However, there are significant gaps in understanding these risks. Objective: The study aimed to assess the risk of COVID-19 among respiratory illness patients admitted to the hospital with comorbidities. Method: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a hospital in Sri Lanka, where the records of 428 patients with respiratory illness were studied for COVID-19 infection and comorbidities from 2020 to 2022. Results: In this sample, 67.1% had been infected with COVID-19 and 51.6% had comorbidities. The age group ≥60 years had two times higher risk for comorbidities, and the most frequently occurring condition was hypertension (58.8%). Surprisingly, the infection rate of COVID-19 among patients with comorbidities was 28% lower compared to patients with no comorbidities, but the odds ratio (OR) for dying was greater once the patient with comorbidities was infected with COVID-19 (OR = 7.5). An increased risk of death was observed for COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus (OR = 2), hypertension (OR = 2.5), heart diseases (OR = 4.3), and renal diseases (OR = 2.4). Conclusion: It was surprising to find that the infection rate and risk of death due to COVID-19 were lower among patients with chronic lung diseases. This could be due to early death at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, less hospital admissions for patients with chronic lung diseases, or resistance to COVID-19, and these are factors that require further exploration.
KW - Chronic lung diseases
KW - Comorbidity
KW - Coronavirus disease 2019
KW - Odds ratio
KW - Retrospective study
KW - Risk factors
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U2 - 10.4103/ijnpnd.ijnpnd_73_23
DO - 10.4103/ijnpnd.ijnpnd_73_23
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85187139066
SN - 2231-0738
VL - 14
SP - 43
EP - 51
JO - International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases
JF - International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases
IS - 1
ER -