• J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jun 2020

    Effect of Underlying Comorbidities on the Infection and Severity of COVID-19 in Korea: a Nationwide Case-Control Study.

    • Wonjun Ji, Kyungmin Huh, Minsun Kang, Jinwook Hong, Gi Hwan Bae, Rugyeom Lee, Yewon Na, Hyoseon Choi, Seon Yeong Gong, Yoon Hyeong Choi, Kwang Pil Ko, Jeong Soo Im, and Jaehun Jung.
    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
    • J. Korean Med. Sci. 2020 Jun 29; 35 (25): e237.

    BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an emerging threat worldwide. It remains unclear how comorbidities affect the risk of infection and severity of COVID-19.MethodsThis is a nationwide retrospective case-control study of 219,961 individuals, aged 18 years or older, whose medical costs for COVID-19 testing were claimed until May 15, 2020. COVID-19 diagnosis and infection severity were identified from reimbursement data using diagnosis codes and on the basis of respiratory support use, respectively. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using multiple logistic regression, after adjusting for age, sex, region, healthcare utilization, and insurance status.ResultsThe COVID-19 group (7,341 of 219,961) was young and had a high proportion of female. Overall, 13.0% (954 of 7,341) of the cases were severe. The severe COVID-19 group had older patients and a proportion of male ratio than did the non-severe group. Diabetes (odds ratio range [ORR], 1.206-1.254), osteoporosis (ORR, 1.128-1.157), rheumatoid arthritis (ORR, 1.207-1.244), substance use (ORR, 1.321-1.381), and schizophrenia (ORR, 1.614-1.721) showed significant association with COVID-19. In terms of severity, diabetes (OR, 1.247; 95% confidential interval, 1.009-1.543), hypertension (ORR, 1.245-1.317), chronic lower respiratory disease (ORR, 1.216-1.233), chronic renal failure, and end-stage renal disease (ORR, 2.052-2.178) were associated with severe COVID-19.ConclusionWe identified several comorbidities associated with COVID-19. Health care workers should be more careful while diagnosing and treating COVID-19 when patients have the abovementioned comorbidities.© 2020 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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