Predictors of Mortality due to COVID-19 Infection among Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Coronavirus diseases-2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a pandemic with significant mortality risk. The early predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients are older age, male gender, co-morbidities like uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, severe asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Chronic Liver Disease and malignancy and raised pro-inflammatory markers in most of the studies from China, Western Europe and US.

Aim: To determine the various risk factors associated with outcomes of COVID-19 infection among laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients, aged 18 years and above, who were admitted in a designated COVID-19 hospital in Puducherry, India. Pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect the data through telephonic interview. Descriptive statistics, frequency, mean and standard deviation was estimated for demographic characteristics as appropriate. Chi-square test was used to investigate demographic and health related predictors of COVID-19 outcomes.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 41.38 (±17.552) years. Thirty five (8.3%) patients died during their treatment. The common presenting symptom was fever (142, 33.80%), followed by cold and cough (96, 22.85% each). Factors such as more than 60 years of age, female gender, resident of rural area, patients owning yellow ration card, unemployment, overcrowding, current smoking and alcoholics, attending social gathering, social distancing, hand washing, level of wearing mask were found to be significantly associated with fatal prognosis.

Conclusion: Risk factors such as older age, females, rural residence, unemployment, overcrowding, smoking and alcoholism, co-morbidities, social gathering, social distancing, hand washing and mask usage were found to be associated with COVID-19 deaths.