COVID-19 Clinical Profile in Latin American Migrants Living in Spain: Does the Geographical Origin Matter?

Abiu Sempere-González,Maria Aznar,Isabel Campos-Varela,Fernando Salvador,Pau Bosch-Nicolau,Alfredo Guillén-Del-Castillo,Andrés Antón,Júlia Sampol,Marta Miarons,Arnau Monforte,Benito Almirante,Juan Espinosa-Pereiro,Adrián Sánchez-Montalvá,Inés Oliveira,Lina Leguízamo-Martínez

doi:10.3390/jcm10225213

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia according to their geographical origin. This is a retrospective case-control study of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia treated at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona) during the first wave of the pandemic. Cases were defined as patients born in Latin America and controls were randomly selected among Spanish patients matched by age and gender. Demographic and clinical variables were collected, including comorbidities, symptoms, vital signs and analytical parameters, intensive care unit admission and outcome at 28 days after admission. Overall, 1080 hospitalized patients were registered: 774 (71.6%) from Spain, 142 (13.1%) from Latin America and the rest from other countries. Patients from Latin America were considered as cases and 558 Spanish patients were randomly selected as controls. Latin American patients had a higher proportion of anosmia, rhinorrhea and odynophagia, as well as higher mean levels of platelets and lower mean levels of ferritin than Spanish patients. No differences were found in oxygen requirement and mortality at 28 days after admission, but there was a higher proportion of ICU admissions (28.2% vs. 20.2%, p = 0.0310). An increased proportion of ICU admissions were found in patients from Latin America compared with native Spanish patients when adjusted by age and gender, with no significant differences in in-hospital mortality.

Highlights

At the end of 2019, China first reported a group of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome by a new virus called SARS-CoV-2
Spain is fifth in the European Union regarding the highest rates of migration in the last 25 years, especially from Latin America, an ethnic group severely punished during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic [23,24]
We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes of adult hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, observing a higher risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission among Latin American patients compared with Spanish patients after adjusting by age and gender

Summary

Introduction

At the end of 2019, China first reported a group of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome by a new virus called SARS-CoV-2. Studies of other respiratory infectious diseases, such as influenza, H1N1 influenza, have suggested links between geographical origin and worse outcomes, as well as the widespread nature of the COVID-19 pandemic [11,12,13]. All these results could be explained by a greater social vulnerability, access to health care, lack of testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection, higher virus exposure in essential-worker occupations and individual genetic factors [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. Spain is fifth in the European Union regarding the highest rates of migration in the last 25 years, especially from Latin America, an ethnic group severely punished during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic [23,24]

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