ABSTRACT
Battling the COVID-19 pandemic still is the main agenda of many countries in the world today. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics of COVID-19-related deaths in Malaysia in 2020. Data was obtained from the daily press conference on the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia. Only information on daily deaths were collected for the purpose of this study. A total of 471 COVID-19 deaths reported in Malaysia in 2020. Number of deaths reported for the age categories < 65 years old and ≥ 65 years old were almost equal. Majority of deaths were reported among male (66.2%), Malaysian (82.8%), from the state of Sabah (56.3%) and with comorbidities (75.4%). Commonly reported comorbidities were hypertension (53.1%), diabetes mellitus (37.6%) and heart disease (17.4%). Gout was more prevalent and attributed to significant rate of mortality in individuals ≥ 65 years old (6.1%;p = 0.011), whereas obesity (5.8%;p = 0.003) and asthma (4.5%;p = 0.040) were more prevalent and attributed to significant rate of mortality in individuals < 65 years old. Heart disease was more prevalent among males (n = 64, 20.5%;p = 0.013) and obesity was more prevalent among women (n = 11, 6.9%;p = 0.003). Furthermore, presence of comorbidities was significantly higher in Malaysians (p < 0.001) with two and more comorbidities (p = 0.007). Early detection of risk factors for critical conditions is urgently required to provide adequate supportive treatment.