Comorbidities and their effects on 753 COVID-19 patients in eastern Algeria

Comorbidities and COVID-19

Abstract

It has been reported that the coexistence of comorbidities with COVID-19 is a risk factor for the severity of COVID-19 and a worse prognosis. The objective of the current study was to examine and highlight risk factors for severe disease as well as the influence of comorbidities on mortality risk in COVID-19 patients in the eastern region of Algeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a cohort of 753 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to four hospitals in eastern Algeria in 2020 and 2021. In the population that was enumerated, the average age of patients was 63.56±15.49 years, with a range of 1.29 for the male to female  gender ratio. The PCR was positive in 88.1% of patients, the oxygen desaturation was 81.27±12.35%, and the pulmonary affliction was extended or critical in 50.7% and 14.8%, respectively. The most prevalent comorbidities were diabetes (40.4%) and hypertension (26.7%). This group of patients had a wide variety of biological abnormalities. 58.5% of patients had at least a single comorbidity, while 23.6% patients had two or more comorbidities. The average SpO₂ value decreased significantly in proportion to the rise of COVID-19 related comorbidities. A frequency of 24.0% of the patients with a SpO₂<90, had two or more comorbidities. The mortality rate was 28%. It was 9.2% for patients with a single comorbidity and 8% for those with multiple comorbidities. Our research suggested that patients with comorbidities had more severe COVID-19 than those without. Moreover, a higher number of comorbidities was associated with a greater COVID-19 severity and higher biological parameter abnormalities. Due to the high number of infections, biological changes, and deaths among patients with comorbidities infected