Researchers from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi conducted a retrospective study and they found that younger patients with underlying co-morbidities were at a relatively higher risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality compared to older patients with similar underlying conditions during the first wave of coronavirus pandemic in India. The research findings were published Saturday in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Springer Nature.
While conducting the study, the researchers analyzed data from 2,586 COVID-19 hospitalized patients who were hospitalized from April 8, 2020 to October 4, 2020 to investigate the association of diabetes (DM), hypertension (HT), and chronic kidney disease. to observe. disease (CKD) on the prognosis and mortality of COVID-19 infection in hospitalized patients.
“Our study also showed that women had a relatively higher risk of death compared to men with the same comorbidity, except for hypertensive patients,” said Dr. Rashmi Rana, Author and Adviser, Department of Research, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in a statement.
The researchers said that of the 2,586 patients, 779 (30.1%) required ICU admission, while 1,807 (69.9%) were not admitted to the ICU. Of the 2586 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection, there were 2269 (87.7%) and mortality was in 317 (12.3%) patients.
“Research showed that the risk of severity of COVID-19 infection in younger patients with underlying co-morbidities was found to have a relatively higher risk of disease severity and mortality compared to older patients with a similar underlying condition,” dr. Vivek Ranjan, co-author and chairman of the Department of Blood Transfusion, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
Meanwhile, Dr. Atul Gogia, co-author and senior advisor to the Department of Medicine revealed that in their study, patients with chronic kidney disease were more prone to disease progression, complications and mortality, followed by hypertension and diabetes.
“When comparing the impact of multiple comorbidities with the severity of COVID-19 infection, the presence of comorbidities was found to increase the risk of ICU admission. As the number of co-morbidities increases, so does the risk of the severity of the COVID-19 infection,” said Dr. DSRana, co-author and chair of the renal sciences department.
The study also found that the presence of comorbidities carries a greater risk of ICU admission. In addition, patients with diabetes and hypertension were related to a longer recovery period. As the number of comorbidities increased, so did the risk of severity of the COVID-19 infection.
