Impact of comorbidities on mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID‑19: An experience from Iran

COVID‑19 pandemic has spread all over the world. However, information regarding clinical characteristics and prognostic factors is scarce. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of preexistent chronic comorbid conditions and multimorbidity on risk of mortality in patients with COVID‑19.

We designed a retrospective, cross‑sectional, observational, single‑center study. Data were analyzed from all consecutive patients diagnosed with COVID‑19 who admitted in a pandemic hospital affiliated with Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, from February 20, 2020, to September 25, 2020. The independent effects of preexistent conditions were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression model.

A total of 2597 hospitalized patients with COVID‑19 were included. At least one preexistent condition was observed in 36.5% of study population. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age, male sex, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, chronic kidney diseases, liver diseases, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were associated with increased risk of mortality. In addition, the number of comorbidities was significantly associated with increased odds of mortality compared to no‑comorbidity.

The results of this study suggest that patients with comorbidities have an increased risk of in‑hospital mortality following COVID‑19 infection.