The Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Fatal Cases of COVID-19 in Fars Province, Iran

Human health has been challenged drastically by the emergence of COVID-19. This pandemic has imposed a serious burden on different aspects of life. Apart from the high rates of morbidity and mortality, reporting of newly formed variants with enhanced contagious capacity has made the future vague. Existence of different comorbidities is a prominent factor towards poor prognosis and fatal outcomes.

The present study aimed to identify the most important comorbidities in the COVID-19 patients who passed away during the first wave in Fars province, Iran.

Trained general physicians obtained data from medical files in the referral hospitals of COVID-19 throughout the province. These included demographic data, past medical history, and existence of comorbidities. The data were analyzed using chi-square test, independent sample t-test, and Mann-Whitney test. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Out of the 3700 confirmed cases, 87 patients died from February to May 2020. Among these patients, 81.1% had comorbidities, with hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease being the most prevalent ones. The results revealed no significant differences between the individuals with and without comorbidities regarding age, gender, and duration of ICU hospitalization. Oxygen saturation was also poor in both groups. However, the patients with comorbidities had significantly higher blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels compared to their comorbidity-free peers.

Cardiovascular disease and the related risk factors contributed greatly to the deadly fate in COVID-19 patients. Hence, early prophylactic and therapeutic interventions should be considered in COVID-19 patients harboring such comorbidities. This can play a pivotal role in reducing the rate of mortality and the consequent financial and social harms.