Comorbidity and its impact on 1,590 patients with COVID-19 in China: A Nationwide Analysis
Authors: Guan Wei-jie , Liang Wen-hua , Zhao Yi , Liang Heng-rui , Chen Zi-sheng , Li Yi-min , Liu Xiao-qing , Chen Ru-chong , Tang Chun-li , Wang Tao , Ou Chun-quan , Li Li , Chen Ping-yan , Sang Ling , Wang Wei , Li Jian-fu , Li Cai-chen , Ou Li-min , Cheng Bo , Xiong Shan , Ni Zheng-yi , Xiang Jie , Hu Yu , Liu Lei , Shan Hong , Lei Chun-liang , Peng Yi-xiang , Wei Li , Liu Yong , Hu Ya-hua , Peng Peng , Wang Jian-ming , Liu Ji-yang , Chen Zhong , Li Gang , Zheng Zhi-jian , Qiu Shao-qin , Luo Jie , Ye Chang-jiang , Zhu Shao-yong , Cheng Lin-ling , Ye Feng , Li Shi-yue , Zheng Jin-ping , Zhang Nuo-fu , Zhong Nan-shan , He Jian-xing 
Published: February 2020

Objective

To evaluate the spectrum of comorbidities and its impact on the clinical outcome in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Design

Retrospective case studies

Setting

575 hospitals in 31 province/autonomous regions/provincial municipalities across China

Participants

1,590 laboratory-confirmed hospitalized patients. Data were collected from November 21st, 2019 to January 31st, 2020.

Main outcomes and measures

Epidemiological and clinical variables (in particular, comorbidities) were extracted from medical charts. The disease severity was categorized based on the American Thoracic Society guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia. The primary endpoint was the composite endpoints, which consisted of the admission to intensive care unit (ICU), or invasive ventilation, or death. The risk of reaching to the composite endpoints was compared among patients with COVID-19 according to the presence and number of comorbidities.

Results

Of the 1,590 cases, the mean age was 48.9 years. 686 patients (42.7%) were females. 647 (40.7%) patients were managed inside Hubei province, and 1,334 (83.9%) patients had a contact history of Wuhan city. Severe cases accounted for 16.0% of the study population. 131 (8.2%) patients reached to the composite endpoints. 399 (25.1%) reported having at least one comorbidity. 269 (16.9%), 59 (3.7%), 30 (1.9%), 130 (8.2%), 28 (1.8%), 24 (1.5%), 21 (1.3%), 18 (1.1%) and 3 (0.2%) patients reported having hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, hepatitis B infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney diseases, malignancy and immunodeficiency, respectively. 130 (8.2%) patients reported having two or more comorbidities. Patients with two or more comorbidities had significantly escalated risks of reaching to the composite endpoint compared with those who had a single comorbidity, and even more so as compared with those without (all P<0.05). After adjusting for age and smoking status, patients with COPD (HR 2.681, 95%CI 1.424-5.048), diabetes (HR 1.59, 95%CI 1.03-2.45), hypertension (HR 1.58, 95%CI 1.07-2.32) and malignancy (HR 3.50, 95%CI 1.60-7.64) were more likely to reach to the composite endpoints than those without. As compared with patients without comorbidity, the HR (95%CI) was 1.79 (95%CI 1.16-2.77) among patients with at least one comorbidity and 2.59 (95%CI 1.61-4.17) among patients with two or more comorbidities.

Conclusion

Comorbidities are present in around one fourth of patients with COVID-19 in China, and predispose to poorer clinical outcomes.

Highlights

What is already known on this topic

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Since November 2019, the rapid outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has recently become a public health emergency of international concern. There have been 79,331 laboratory-confirmed cases and 2,595 deaths globally as of February 25th, 2020

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Previous studies have demonstrated the association between comorbidities and other severe acute respiratory diseases including SARS and MERS.

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No study with a nationwide representative cohort has demonstrated the spectrum of comorbidities and the impact of comorbidities on the clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

What this study adds

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In this nationwide study with 1,590 patients with COVID-19, comorbidities were identified in 399 patients. Comorbidities of COVID-19 mainly included hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, hepatitis B infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney diseases, malignancy and immunodeficiency.

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The presence of as well as the number of comorbidities predicted the poor clinical outcomes (admission to intensive care unit, invasive ventilation, or death) of COVID-19.

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Comorbidities should be taken into account when estimating the clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19 on hospital admission.