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. 2018 Nov 5:147:e35.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268818002923.

Prevalence of comorbidities in cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: a retrospective study

F Y Alqahtani  1 , F S Aleanizy  1 , R Ali El Hadi Mohamed  2   3 , M S Alanazi  4 , N Mohamed  5   6 , M M Alrasheed  7 , N Abanmy  7 , T Alhawassi  7
Affiliations

Prevalence of comorbidities in cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: a retrospective study

F Y Alqahtani et al. Epidemiol Infect. .

Abstract

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a life-threatening respiratory disease with a high case fatality rate; however, its risk factors remain unclear. We aimed to explore the influence of demographic factors, clinical manifestations and underlying comorbidities on mortality in MERS-CoV patients. Retrospective chart reviews were performed to identify all laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS-COV infection in Saudi Arabia that were reported to the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia between 23 April 2014 and 7 June 2016. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess the effect of sex, age, clinical presentation and comorbidities on mortality from MERS-CoV. A total of 281 confirmed MERS-CoV cases were identified: 167 (59.4%) patients were male and 55 (20%) died. Mortality predominantly occurred among Saudi nationals and older patients and was significantly associated with respiratory failure and shortness of breath. Of the 281 confirmed cases, 160 (56.9%) involved comorbidities, wherein diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease and chronic kidney disease were significantly associated with mortality from MERS-CoV and two or three comorbidities significantly affected the fatality rates from MERS-CoV. The findings of this study show that old age and the existence of underlying comorbidities significantly increase mortality from MERS-CoV.

Keywords: Comorbidities; middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus; mortality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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