ABSTRACT
Objectives: To assess factors associated with admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in fully vaccinated patients with severe COVID-19 in Brazil and the association between ICU admission and death from COVID-19. Methods: This was retrospective study of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from February 12, 2021 to January 10, 2022 across Brazil who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before hospitalization. Outcomes were admission in an ICU for COVID-19 and death from COVID-19. Variables evaluated were: sex; age; self-reported skin color; macroregion; comorbidities; time between full vaccination and onset of symptoms; and time between onset of symptoms and hospitalization. A Poisson regression model was used to estimate crude and adjusted risk ratios. Results: Of 74 991 patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19, 67.28% were ≥ 70 years and 68.32% had at least one comorbidity. Men, patients aged 60-69 years, and patients aged 18-39 years with obesity had the greatest risk of ICU admission. Patients aged 18-39 years with obesity, diabetes, or renal diseases had the highest risk of death from COVID-19. When age and time between onset of symptoms and hospitalization were considered effect modifiers, patients admitted to an ICU 9-13 days after symptom onset in each age category had the greatest risk of death from COVID-19. Conclusion: Although older patients were at greatest risk of ICU admission and death from COVID-19, the difference in the risk of dying from COVID-19 between patients admitted to an ICU and those not admitted was greatest for young adults.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the relative risk (RR) of death associated with obesity, the attributable fraction in the exposed/with obesity (AFo), and the hospitalized population attributable risk (hospitalized PAR) associated with obesity of death among all adults and among Black and non-Black adults hospitalized for severe COVID-19 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study of prognostic factors analyzed all cases of adults hospitalized for severe COVID-19 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The occurrence of obesity was measured using secondary data from hospital teams' surveillance records. The outcome assessed was hospital deaths caused by severe COVID-19. Poisson regression was used to estimate RRs and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 100,099 patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19, most of whom were White (84.7%) and male (54.7%). The effect of obesity was strongly modified by age, being higher in younger age groups. For the 18-39-year-old age group, RR = 2.54 (95%CI: 2.33-2.77), and in individuals 70 years and above, RR = 1.09 (95%CI: 1.05-1.13). For the 18-39-year-old age range, AFo = 60.6% and AFo = 42.5% in individuals 40-59 years old. For all hospitalizations, Hospitalized PAR measuring obesity for individuals 18-39 years old was 25.3%, while in the 40-59-year-old range, the hospitalized PAR = 11.2%. The hospitalized PAR was 31.7% in the Black population aged 18-39 years and 24.8% in non-Blacks. The hospitalized PAR was also larger in Blacks aged 40-59 years. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity largely impacted in-hospital case-fatality rates among young adults and Black people contaminated by COVID-19. These data highlight the extent of the risk concerning obesity, a highly prevalent chronic condition.