Background & Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating global impact, with millions of cases and varying severity of illness. Southeastern Iran has been particularly hard hit, with a high number of patients requiring hospitalization. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with mortality from COVID-19 among hospitalized patients in this region.
Materials & Methods: A case-control study compared hospitalized COVID-19 patients who succumbed to the disease (confirmed by death certificates and positive PCR tests) with those who recovered, from February 27, 2020, to June 30, 2021. Researchers analyzed data using t-tests and chi-square tests to identify significant factors associated with mortality (p < 0.05). Variables significant at a less stringent level (p < 0.2) were then included in a backward logistic regression model to explore independent predictors of mortality.
Results: This retrospective study examined data from 473 patients, of whom 158 were in the case group and 315 were in the control group. Among the case group, 80.4% were elderly, compared to 41% in the control group. A significantly higher proportion of patients in the case group (12.7%) experienced critical symptoms leading to ICU hospitalization, compared to the control group (7.3%). Multivariable regression analysis identified several factors significantly associated with increased mortality risk. These included ICU hospitalization (OR=5.27, CI: 3.09-8.98), advanced age (OR=4.06, CI: 2.43-6.80), hypertension (OR=4.44, CI: 1.52-12.93), cardiovascular diseases (OR=2.56, CI: 1.1-5.98), and critical symptoms (OR=2.74, CI: 1.92-8.04). Diabetes, pregnancy, nationality, and gender did not statistically increase mortality risk (p-value ≥ 0.05).
Conclusion: Advanced age, severe symptoms requiring ICU care, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases are all critical mortality risk factors in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
Epidemiology Received: 2024/03/26 | Accepted: 2024/05/28 | Published: 2024/08/6
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