An Epidemiologic Analysis of COVID-19 and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) Based on Hospital Data in Hormozgan Province in the South of Iran

 From the general health perspective, the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Hormozgan Province, a region in the south of Iran marked by heavy traffic, can provide useful information to help control the epidemic of the disease in other provinces and the whole country.

 Thus, the present research aimed to epidemiologically analyze COVID-19 patients and patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) based on hospital data in Hormozgan Province.

 In the present observational, analytical, cross-sectional study, the epidemiologic data of all 2,055 patients with the symptoms of acute respiratory problems who visited hospitals in Hormozgan between February 20, 2020, and April 19, 2020, were analyzed and reported. Patients’ demographic information included gender, age, and background diseases. Tabulated data, frequencies, and percentages were used for descriptive statistics, and the chi-squared test and odds ratios were used for inferential statistics.

 The ratios of male to female among people with COVID-19 and respiratory infection were 1.15 and 1.12, respectively. The mean age of the participants was 42.8 ± 21 years. The results revealed that contact with patients had the highest odds ratio (5.41 - 9.30, OR = 7.09) regarding COVID-19 as compared to SARI. Reduced sense of smell (1.86 - 12.87, OR = 4.89), muscular pain (1.24 - 2.14, OR = 1.63), coughs (1.14 - 1.86, OR = 1.46), and fever (1.14 - 1.83, OR = 1.45) showed to have the highest odds ratios concerning the symptoms. As for background diseases, cardiovascular disease (1.004 - 2.110, OR = 1.455), asthma (OR = 1.603, 1.040 - 2.473), and pulmonary chronic disease (1.456 - 3.854, OR = 2.369) had the highest odds ratios.

 The present findings showed a statistically significant correlation between age and affliction with COVID-19. Moreover, the most prevalent symptoms of the disease were reduced sense of smell, muscular pain, coughs, and fever, as already mentioned in similar studies. The present research showed that patients with cardiovascular disease, asthma, or chronic pulmonary disease had the highest risk of COVID-19.