A study detected the 3 main risk factors that are associated with mortality from COVID-19 in Argentina

Many and with different objectives are the studies that have been carried out around the world since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these jobs can differ widely in different countries and regions.

Additionally, many clinical observations from specific cities, states, or countries may not apply to other territories or populations.

With that premise, A group of Argentine researchers considered that it was “essential to have prospective clinical information on the results and predictors of COVID-19 in each country or region.”

“The main outcome of this analysis was mortality at 30 days from initial admission. The secondary outcome was admission to the intensive care unit (ICU)”, the researchers described among the conclusions of the study, published in the journal Plos One.

The ECCOVID research is an ongoing multicenter prospective observational cohort study conducted in 19 hospitals in Argentina. “The objective of the study is to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients admitted with COVID-19 in the country. The study was designed by the Research Subcommittee of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases (SADI)”, the authors specified.

The infectious disease doctor Lautaro De Vedia (MN 70640) was one of the authors of the work and, when consulted by Infobae, highlighted that“Of the patients studied, risk factors, mortality, evolution, etc. were analyzed. and it was confirmed that the associated comorbidities are hypertension, obesity, and diabetes and that those with the greatest chances of entering the ICU are men, obese and hypertensive, among others ”.

A total of 809 patients were analyzed. The median age was 53 years, 56% were male, and 71% had at least one comorbidity. The most frequent comorbidities were hypertension (32%), obesity (23%), and diabetes (17%). The severity of the disease on admission was classified as mild 25%, moderate 51%, severe 17%, and critical 7%.

According to the researchers, almost half of the patients (49%) required supplemental oxygen, 18% ICU, and 12% invasive ventilation. Overall, 30-day mortality was 11%. The factors that were independently associated with admission to the ICU were male gender, hypertension, obesity, low oxygen saturation, and lymphopenia (fewer lymphocytes in the blood associated with severe pneumonia).

And they highlighted that “the factors independently associated with 30-day mortality included age greater than 60 years and oxygen saturation less than 93%.

Patients who were enrolled in the study were older than 18 years of age, were admitted to a participating center, had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or other methods validated on nasopharyngeal swabs or other respiratory samples, and had consented to participation in the study.

According to the publication, “the most frequent symptoms reported before or upon admission were fever (61%), cough (60%) and dyspnea (40%)”. At admission, almost a third of the patients (30%) had an abnormal body temperature greater than 37.5 ° C and 18.5% had a fever (more than 38°C).

The median time from the onset of symptoms to hospitalization was five days, approximately one-fifth of the patients (21%) did not present symptoms of upper or lower respiratory tract infection.

“Local data is always important de Vedia remarked. It is possible that most of the time they match the global data, but it is always better to confirm the situation of each place, see if there are any peculiarities, any differences, etc. It is not what was seen in this work, but that does not mean that it is better to have the data of the place.”

According to the last part issued by the Ministry of Health of the Nation this Sunday, in the last 24 hours, 15 deaths and 331 new infections of COVID-19 were registered in Argentina, the lowest number of cases in 17 months. With these data, the country accumulates a total of 5,265,859 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, while the deaths are 115,473.

Non-communicable diseases

High blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes are part of the well-known Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). AND they all have a common dominator: they can be promoted by the development of some modifiable risk factors such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, stress, excessive consumption of alcohol, and tobacco. According to specialists, all these conditions have worsened during the pandemic due to a lack of medical controls and the interruption of treatments for fear of contagion, plus the recrudescence of unhealthy behaviors related to diet and sedentary lifestyle.

High blood pressure is a life-threatening and disabling disease that affects 1 in 3 adults in our country. It is defined by the detection of averages of systolic (“maximum”) and/or diastolic (“minimum”) blood pressure above the limits established as normal for the records obtained in the office.

“To prevent and control arterial hypertension, the fundamental pillars are to reduce salt consumption, moderate alcohol consumption, increase the consumption of vegetables and fruits in the diet, reduce weight or maintain the ideal weight, have regular physical activity. and not smoking”, assured Dr. Fernando Botto to Infobae, cardiologist, (MN 79189), member of the Department of Clinical Research of Latin American Clinical Studies (ECLA) and head of clinical research at the Cardiovascular Institute of Buenos Aires (ICBA).

An estimated 626 million women and 652 million men have high blood pressure, with the highest increase in low- and middle-income countries.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the production of insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas that is responsible for removing sugar from the blood) and therefore produces excess sugar in the blood of people. It arises when the pancreas does not produce correctly (Type 1 Diabetes) or when the body does not use effectively (Type 2 Diabetes) the insulin it makes, which is the hormone produced by the pancreas that is responsible for removing sugar from the blood). Sustained hyperglycemia (increased blood glucose) damages many organs and systems, especially nerves and blood vessels.

According to the latest Atlas made in 2019 by the International Diabetes Federation, by the year 2045, the number of affected will reach 700 million. In Argentina, the prevalence of diabetes is 12.7% and continues to grow: according to the 4th National Survey of Risk Factors carried out by the National Directorate for Health Promotion and Control of Non-communicable Chronic Diseases, in 15 years diabetes increased by 50%.

In the case of obesity, it is a condition that can seriously affect people’s health, due to the complications that the accumulation of excessive fat in the long term can bring to the body.

“Obesity in adults is one of the determining factors that explain the growth of the main causes of mortality and morbidity in the world. It is estimated that a large part of the burden of NCDs is attributable to excess weight, mainly in the case of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, strokes, and various types of cancers ”, ruled the latest National Survey of Risk Factors (ENFR).

“The deterioration suffered by people with NCDs is enormous. We still do not have numbers, because the focus continues on the attention of COVID-19, but just to take the dimension of the importance of NCDs in terms of mortality, let us take into account that at a global level COVID-19 killed just over 4 million people, on the other hand, NCDs in the pre-pandemic stage, are responsible for 40 million deaths each year. Saying this does not imply minimizing the importance of COVID-19, but it puts into dimension what it can mean to neglect NCDs”, emphasized Dr. Mónica Katz in dialogue with Infobae, a specialist in Nutrition, former president of the Argentine Society of Nutrition (SAINT).