In-Hospital 30-Day Survival Among Young Adults with COVID-19: A Cohort Study

Richardson, Safiya; Gitlin, Jordan; Kozel, Zachary; Levy, Sera; Rahman, Husneara; Hirsch, Jamie S; McGinn, Thomas; Diefenbach, Michael A

BACKGROUND: To characterize young adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and identify predictors of survival at 30 days. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study took place at 12 acute care hospitals in the New York City area. Patients aged 18-39 hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 between March 1(st) and April 27(th), 2020 were included in the study. Demographic, clinical and outcome data were extracted from electronic health record reports. RESULTS: 1013 patients were included in the study (median age, 33 years [interquartile range (IQR) 28-36]; 52% female). At the study end point, 940 (92.8%) of patients were discharged alive, 18 (1.8%) remained hospitalized, 5 (0.5%) were transferred to another acute care facility and 50 (4.9%) expired. The most common comorbidities in hospitalized young adult patients were obesity (51.2%), diabetes mellitus (14.8%) and hypertension (13%). Multivariable analysis revealed that obesity (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.71; 95% CI, 1.28-5.73; p 0.002) and Charlson Comorbidity Index score (aHR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.07-1.35; p 0.002) were independent predictors of in-hospital 30-day mortality. CONCLUSION: Obesity was identified as the strongest negative predictor of 30-day in-hospital survival in young adults with COVID-19.