Sex-Disaggregated Data on Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Sex and gender are crucial variables in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We sought to provide information on differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes between male and female patients and to explore the effect of estrogen in disease outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Method: In this retrospective, multi-center study, we included all confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted to four hospitals in Hubei province, China from Dec 31, 2019 to Mar 31, 2020. Cases were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR and were analyzed for demographic, clinical, laboratory and radiographic parameters. Random-effect logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between sex and disease outcomes. Results: A total of 2501 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were included in the present study. The clinical manifestations of male and female patients with COVID-19 were similar, while male patients have more comorbidities than female patients. In terms of laboratory findings, compared with female patients, male patients were more likely to have lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, inflammatory response, hypoproteinemia, and extrapulmonary organ damage. Random-effect logistic regression analysis indicated that male patients were more likely to progress into severe type, and prone to ARDS, secondary bacterial infection, and death than females. However, there was no significant difference in disease outcomes between postmenopausal and premenopausal females after propensity score matching (PSM) by age. Conclusions: Male patients, especially those age-matched with postmenopausal females, are more likely to have poor outcomes. Sex-specific differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes do exist in patients with COVID-19, but estrogen may not be the primary cause. Further studies are needed to explore the causes of the differences in disease outcomes between the sexes.

Efficacy of ribavirin and interferon-α therapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of ribavirin and interferon-α (RBV/IFN-α) therapy in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study of COVID-19 patients admitted to 4 hospitals in Hubei Province, China, from 31 December 2019 to 31 March 2020. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to their exposure to RBV/IFN-α therapy within 48 h of admission. Mixed-effect Cox model and Logistic regression were used to explore the association between early treatments of RBV/IFN-α and primary outcomes. RESULTS: Of 2037 patients included, 1281 received RBV/IFN-α (RBV, IFN-α or RBV combined with IFN-α) treatments and 756 received none of these treatments. In a mixed effect model, RBV/IFN-α therapy was not associated with progression from non-severe into severe type (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.88-1.36) or with reduction in 30-day mortality (aHR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.61-1.30). However, it was associated with a higher probability of hospital stay >15 days (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.68-2.64) compared with no RBV/IFN-α therapy. The propensity score-matched cohort and subgroup analysis displayed similar results. CONCLUSION: RBV/IFN-α therapy was not observed to improve clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients suggesting that RBV/IFN-α therapy should be avoided in COVID-19 treatment.

Mental health of college students during the COVID-19 epidemic in China.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the psychological status of college students in China during the COVID-19 outbreak, and offer some theoretical evidence for psychological intervention of college students. METHODS: An online survey was conducted from May 10, 2020 to June 10, 2020. Anxiety symptoms were measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7). Categorical data were reported as number and percentage, while continuous data were reported as mean ± SD. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between different factors and anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 89,588 college students participated in the current study, among which 36,865 students (41.1%) reported anxiety symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk factors for anxiety symptoms included the age of 26-30 (OR=1.456), sophomore (OR=1.038), junior (OR=1.087) and senior grades (OR=1.161), a higher paternal education level (OR=1.055), low economic status (OR=1.520), and low social support (OR=1.542). CONCLUSIONS: About two-fifths of Chinese college students experienced anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 epidemic. Timely and appropriate psychological interventions for college students should be implemented to reduce the psychological harm caused by COVID-19 epidemic.

Epidemiological characteristics of 107 pediatric partients with COVID-19 during the initial phase of the outbreak / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To describe the epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in pediatric patients, and to provide data support and decision-making basis for the prevention and control of COVID-19.@*Methods@#Cases of children aged 0-17 years reported by provincial health commissions in Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang and Henan provinces were collected to analyze their spatial, temporal, and demographic distribution.@*Results@#By 24:00 on February 6, 2020, a total of 107 pediatric patients had been reported in the four provinces, accounting for 3.8% (107/2 808) of the total cases reported in the four provinces during the same period. Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang and Henan provinces had 25, 25, 28 and 29 cases, respectively. Cases ranged in age from 5 days after birth to 17 years, with a median age of 8 years. Boys accounted for 58.9%. Totally 38 cases had a history of sojourn in Wuhan or Hubei, 63 cases had a history of exposure to confirmed cases, and 6 cases with unknown exposure history. A group of 52 family clustering were found in 107 cases. All cases presented mild symptoms, no serious and no death.@*Conclusion@#Children were also susceptible to the COVID-19. Before February 2, the index pediatric cases were mainly the first generation cases, and after February 3, these pediatric cases were mainly the secondary-generation cases and those who had close contact with confirmed cases. The monitoring of children with secondgeneration cases and close contact with COVID-19 cases were valued.