Male gender and kidney illness associated with an increased risk of severe laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease

Murillo-Zamora, E.; Trujillo, X.; Huerta, M.; Rios-Silva, M.; Mendoza-Cano, O.

Objective: To identify factors predicting severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adolescent and adult patients with laboratory-positive (quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction) infection. Methods: A retrospective cohort study took place, and data from 740 subjects, from all 32 states of Mexico, were analyzed. The association between the studied factors and severe (dyspnea requiring hospital admission) COVID-19 was evaluated through risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Severe illness was documented in 28% of participants. In multiple analysis, male gender (RR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.06 - 1.20), advanced age ([reference: 15 - 29 years old] 30 - 44, RR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.94 - 1.11; 45 - 59, RR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.15 - 1.38; 60 years or older, RR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.29 - 1.60), chronic kidney disease (RR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.04 - 1.64) and thoracic pain (RR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.10 - 1.24) were associated with an increased risk of severe disease. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating predictors of COVID-19 severity in a large subset of the Latin-American population. It is also the first in documenting gender-related differences regarding the severity of the illness. These results may be useful for health care protocols for the early detection and management of COVID-19 patients that may benefit from opportune and specialized supportive medical treatment.