Analysis of Comorbidities in Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019
Authors: Riaba O.V. , Golubovska O.A. 
Published: February 2025

The coronavirus disease 2019 continues to be one of the leading challenges for healthcare systems both in Ukraine and worldwide. Despite the introduction of vaccination, the number of patients being hospitalized is still significant. A large number of them are elderly patients with sub- and decompensated somatic pathology.
Objective — to study and compare comorbidities as possible predictors of severe coronavirus disease 2019 in patients of different age groups, depending on the vaccination status and history of previous COVID-19 disease.
Materials and methods. The study included 220 hospitalized patients who were divided into two groups: vaccinated patients (n = 129 (74 (57.4 %) women and 55 (42.6 %) men) and unvaccinated patients with a history of COVID-19 (n = 91 (49 (53.8 %) women and 42 (46.2 %) men)). Three subgroups were identified by age: ≤ 39, 40—69, ≥ 70 years, and two subgroups by severity: moderate and severe (among vaccinated patients, moderate severity occurred in 101 (78.3 %) cases, severe course — in 28 (21.7 %), among unvaccinated patients — in 50 (54.9 %) and 41 (45.1 %), respectively). Among patients with severe course, fatalities were recorded: in the group of vaccinated patients — 10 (7.75 %), in the group of unvaccinated patients — 19 (20.9 %).
Results and discussion. The difference in the age distribution among vaccinated patients depending on the severity was statistically insignificant (p = 0.121), whereas in unvaccinated patients after the disease it was statistically significant (p = 0.0007). The most common comorbidities in both groups were hyperten­sion (64.5 %), coronary heart disease (48.2 %), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (20.0 %). All patients in both groups aged — 39 years had moderately severe COVID-19. None of the patients in this age subgroup had confirmed comorbidities. Among vaccinated patients aged ≥ 70 years with moderate severity, hypertension was statistically significant more common (p = 0.0001) than in patients aged 40—69 years, and coronary heart disease was statistically significantly more common (p = 0.0001). In patients aged 70 years and older with severe disease, the incidence of hypertension was 1.7 times higher (p = 0.035) compared to patients aged 40—69 years, and the incidence of coronary heart disease was 2.5 times higher (p = 0.001). Among unvaccinated patients with repeated COVID-19 infection, the incidence of hypertension in patients aged ≥ 70 years with moderate severity was not statistically different from that in patients aged 40—69 years (p = 0.079), and coronary heart disease was statistically significant more common in patients aged ≥ 70 years (p = 0.017). In patients with severe disease, hypertension was recorded 2.8 times more often in the age subgroup ≥ 70 years compared with patients aged 40—69 years (p = 0.022), and coronary heart disease was 3.3 times (p = 0, 0.026)
Conclusions. The presence of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and coronary heart disease statistically significantly increases the possibility of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (p = 0.001 and p = 0.0001, accordingly).