Clinical risk factors for mortality in an analysis of 1375 patients admitted for COVID treatment

The goal of the present work was to examine clinical risk factors for mortality in 1375 COVID + patients admitted to a hospital in Suffolk County, NY. Data were collated by the hospital epidemiological service for patients admitted from 3/7/2020 to 9/1/2020. Time until final discharge or death was the outcome. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate time until death among admitted patients. In total, all cases had resolved leading to 207 deaths. Length of stay was significantly longer in those who died as compared to those who did not (p = 0.007). Of patients who had been discharged, 54 were readmitted and nine subsequently died. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that in addition to older age, male sex, and a history of chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes, that a history of premorbid depression was a risk factors for COVID-19 mortality (aHR = 2.42 [1.38–4.23] P = 0.002), and that this association remained after adjusting for age and for neuropsychiatric conditions as well as medical comorbidities including cardiovascular disease and pulmonary conditions. Sex-stratified analyses revealed that associations between mortality and depression was strongest in males (aHR = 4.45 [2.04–9.72], P < 0.001), and that the association between heart failure and mortality was strongest in participants aged < 65 years old (aHR = 30.50 [9.17–101.48], P < 0.001). While an increasing number of studies have identified several comorbid medical conditions including chronic heart failure and age of patient as risk factors for mortality in COVID + patients, this study confirmed several prior reports and also noted that a history of depression is an independent risk factor for COVID-19 mortality.