PMON201 The Impact of Menopause on Poor Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 Infection

BACKGROUND: Studies evaluating risk factors for poor outcomes with COVID-19 infection report gender variation. Impact of estrogen on immune regulation may be one factor contributing to better outcomes in women. This study evaluates the impact of menopausal status and other risk factors on health outcomes in women hospitalized with COVID-19 infection. METHODS: Data from 1863 non-pregnant women admitted to the Lifespan Hospital System in Rhode Island with COVID-19 infection during the first wave (March 1 - June 30, 2020) and second wave (July 1, 2020 - February 28, 2021) were analyzed. Subjects were categorized as pre-menopausal (age less than 45 years), perimenopausal (age 45 to 55 years), and post-menopausal (age greater than 55 years). Multivariate models to look for risk factors associated with severe illness (i.e. intensive care unit admissions, mechanical ventilation and death) controlled for menopause status, race/ethnicity, insurance type, wave of COVID-19, body mass index, diabetes (DM), hyperglycemia, hypertension (HTN), pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). RESULTS: In our cohort, pre-, peri- and pre, peri and post- menopausal status represented 12.8, 10.4 and 76.8% of the study population, respectively. The mean (± SD) age was 67.57 ±18.0 with 61.4% White/Caucasian, 20% Hispanic/Latino and 1.7% Black. 98.4% had commercial or government-sponsored health insurance. Hyperglycemia (Blood glucose > 180mg/dL on two occurrences) was noted in 26.8% of hospitalized women. Compared to pre- and peri- menopausal status, post- menopausal status was associated with a higher prevalence of Hyperglycemia (OR 1.59 [1.23-2.07]), DM 1.90 (1.50-2.42), HTN 5.06 (4.02-6.37), Pulmonary disease 1.35 (1.07-1.70) and CKD 3.7 (2.58-5.42). Post-menopausal status was also associated with higher mortality (OR 8.6 [2.7-27.6]), severe illness (OR 5.7 [1.3-23.9]), readmission (OR 1.5 [1.04-2.2]) and longer length of hospital stay (OR 1.6 [1.2-2.2]). Adjusted model identified, hyperglycemia (OR 14.8 [4.5-48.8]) and first wave (OR 2.7 [1.1-6.4]) to be independent risk factors for severe illness in post-menopausal women admitted to the hospital with COVID -19 infection. CONCLUSION: While patients with comorbidities are known to be at greater risk for complications related to COVID-19 infection, menopausal status has rarely been considered a risk factor. Recognizing underlying risk factors in females, particularly menopausal females with COVID-19, can help clinicians attempt to identify patients at a higher risk of COVID-19 complications and drive early, more aggressive interventions to mitigate risk in this population. Presentation: Monday, June 13, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.