Preexisting Comorbidities Predicting COVID-19 and Mortality in the UK Biobank Community Cohort

Janice Atkins,Luke Pilling,Chia-Ling Kuo,David Melzer,George Kuchel,Joao Delgado,Jane Masoli

doi:10.1093/geroni/igab046.1329

Janice Atkins, Luke Pilling + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igab046.1329

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Abstract

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients tend to be older and frequently have hypertension, diabetes or CHD, but whether these co-morbidities are more common than in the general older population is unclear. We estimated associations between pre-existing diagnoses and hospitalized COVID-19 alone or with mortality (during the first COVID-19 outbreak, tests performed between March 16 and April 26, 2020). In 269,070 UK Biobank participants aged 65+, 507 (0.2%) became COVID-19 hospital inpatients, of which 141 (27.8%) died. Common preexisting co-morbidities in hospitalized inpatients were hypertension (59.6%), history of falls/fragility fractures (29.4%), CHD (21.5%), T2 diabetes (19. 9%) and asthma (17.6%). However, in adjusted models, pre-existing diagnoses of dementia, T2 diabetes, COPD, pneumonia, depression, atrial fibrillation and hypertension emerged as independent risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization, the first five remaining statistically significant for related mortality. There are specific high risk pre-existing co-morbidities for COVID-19 hospitalization and deaths in community based older men and women.

Highlights

IntroductionHospitalized COVID-19 patients tend to be older and frequently have hypertension, diabetes, or coronary heart disease, but whether these comorbidities are true risk factors (ie, more common than in the general older population) is unclear
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients tend to be older and frequently have hypertension, diabetes, or coronary heart disease, but whether these comorbidities are true risk factors is unclear
In models adjusted for comorbidities, age group, sex, ethnicity, and education, preexisting diagnoses of dementia, type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, depression, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension emerged as independent risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization, the first 5 remaining statistically significant for related mortality

Summary

Introduction

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients tend to be older and frequently have hypertension, diabetes, or coronary heart disease, but whether these comorbidities are true risk factors (ie, more common than in the general older population) is unclear. In models adjusted for comorbidities, age group, sex, ethnicity, and education, preexisting diagnoses of dementia, type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, depression, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension emerged as independent risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization, the first 5 remaining statistically significant for related mortality. Conclusions: There are specific high-risk preexisting comorbidities for COVID-19 hospitalization and related deaths in community-based older men and women. These results do not support simple age-based targeting of the older population to prevent severe COVID-19 infections

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