Miguel Angel Mayer1, Josep Vidal-Alaball2,3, Anna Puigdellívol-Sánchez4,5,6, Francesc X Marín Gomez2,3, Angela Leis1, Jacobo Mendioroz Peña2,7. 1. Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, ES. 2. Health Promotion in Rural Areas Research Group, Gerència Territorial de la Catalunya Central, Institut Català de la Salut, Carrer Pica d'Estats, 13-15, Sant Fruitós de Bages, ES. 3. Unitat de Suport a la Recerca de la Catalunya Central, Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina, Sant Fruitós de Bages, ES. 4. Facultat de Medicina., Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic, ES. 5. CAP Anton de Borja, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, Terrassa, ES. 6. Unitat d'Anatomia Humana Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, ES. 7. COVID-19 Response Unit, Department of Health, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, ES.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Spain is one of the countries which has been most affected by COVID-19, with more than 700,000 cases as of the end of October 2020. Patients with a history of chronic conditions, obesity and cancer are at greater risk from COVID-19 and concerns surrounding the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin type 2 receptor blockers (ARB) 2 and its relation to COVID-19 susceptibility have increased since the beginning of the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the study were: first, to compare the characteristics of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 disease to patients without COVID-19 in primary care, second, to determine the risk factors associated with the mortality outcome, and third, to determine the potential influence of certain medications such as ACEi and ARB on the mortality of patients with COVID-19. METHODS: An observational retrospective study of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Catalan Central Region (Spain), between 1 March and 17 August 2020 was conducted. The data was obtained from the Primary Care Services Information Technologies System belonging to the Catalan Institute of Health, in Barcelona, Spain. RESULTS: The study population included 348,596 patients (aged over 15 years) registered in the Primary Care Services IT System of the Catalan Central Region. The mean age was 49.53 years (SD 19.42) and 31.17% were 60 years old or older. 175,484 (50.34%) patients were women. A total of 23,844 (6.84%) patients in the population studied were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the study period and the most common clinical conditions among them were hypertension (5,267 (22.1%) of patients) and obesity (5,181 (21.7%) of patients). Overall, 2,680 (0.77%) patients died during the study period from the study population as a whole. The number of deaths among patients without COVID-19 was 1,825 (0.57%, mean age 80.6 years old, SD 13.3), while among patients diagnosed with COVID-19 the number of deaths was 855 (3.72%, mean age 83.0 years old, SD 10.80) with an OR of 6.58 (95%-CI 6.06-7.15). CONCLUSIONS: We have seen that women were more likely to catch COVID-19. In addition, our study did not show that hypertension, obesity or being treated with ACEi or ARB, were linked to an increase in mortality in patients with COVID-19. Age is the main factor associated with mortality in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
BACKGROUND: Spain is one of the countries which has been most affected by COVID-19, with more than 700,000 cases as of the end of October 2020. Patients with a history of chronic conditions, obesity and cancer are at greater risk from COVID-19 and concerns surrounding the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin type 2 receptor blockers (ARB) 2 and its relation to COVID-19 susceptibility have increased since the beginning of the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the study were: first, to compare the characteristics of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 disease to patients without COVID-19 in primary care, second, to determine the risk factors associated with the mortality outcome, and third, to determine the potential influence of certain medications such as ACEi and ARB on the mortality of patients with COVID-19. METHODS: An observational retrospective study of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Catalan Central Region (Spain), between 1 March and 17 August 2020 was conducted. The data was obtained from the Primary Care Services Information Technologies System belonging to the Catalan Institute of Health, in Barcelona, Spain. RESULTS: The study population included 348,596 patients (aged over 15 years) registered in the Primary Care Services IT System of the Catalan Central Region. The mean age was 49.53 years (SD 19.42) and 31.17% were 60 years old or older. 175,484 (50.34%) patients were women. A total of 23,844 (6.84%) patients in the population studied were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the study period and the most common clinical conditions among them were hypertension (5,267 (22.1%) of patients) and obesity (5,181 (21.7%) of patients). Overall, 2,680 (0.77%) patientsdied during the study period from the study population as a whole. The number of deaths among patients without COVID-19 was 1,825 (0.57%, mean age 80.6 years old, SD 13.3), while among patients diagnosed with COVID-19 the number of deaths was 855 (3.72%, mean age 83.0 years old, SD 10.80) with an OR of 6.58 (95%-CI 6.06-7.15). CONCLUSIONS: We have seen that women were more likely to catch COVID-19. In addition, our study did not show that hypertension, obesity or being treated with ACEi or ARB, were linked to an increase in mortality in patients with COVID-19. Age is the main factor associated with mortality in patientsinfected with SARS-CoV-2.
Authors: Lia Alves-Cabratosa; Marc Comas-Cufí; Jordi Blanch; Ruth Martí-Lluch; Anna Ponjoan; Antoni Castro-Guardiola; Abelardo Hurtado-Ganoza; Ana Pérez-Jaén; Maria Rexach-Fumaña; Delfi Faixedas-Brunsoms; Maria Angels Gispert-Ametller; Anna Guell-Cargol; Maria Rodriguez-Batista; Ferran Santaularia-Font; Ramon Orriols; Marc Bonnin-Vilaplana; Juan Carlos Calderón López; Gladis Sabater-Talaverano; Francesc Xavier Queralt Moles; Sara Rodriguez-Requejo; Esteve Avellana-Revuelta; Elisabet Balló; Ester Fages-Masmiquel; Josep-Maria Sirvent; Carol Lorencio; Josep Miquel Morales-Pedrosa; Patricia Ortiz-Ballujera; Rafel Ramos Journal: JMIR Public Health Surveill Date: 2022-01-06