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Risk factors associated with hospitalization owing to COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in Palestine
May Hamdan1, Manal Badrasawi2, Souzan Zidan3
1Program of Health and Therapeutic Nutrition, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Palestine Polytechnic University, Hebron, Palestine.
Insights
Older age, urban living, and certain health conditions like obesity and diabetes increase hospitalization risk for COVID-19. Identifying these risk factors aids targeted patient care and prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a significant public health challenge.
- Understanding risk factors for severe outcomes like hospitalization is crucial for effective management.
- Previous studies have identified some risk factors, but a comprehensive analysis is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key risk factors associated with COVID-19-related hospitalization.
- To provide evidence for enhancing clinical care and preventive strategies for COVID-19 patients.
- To analyze the association between sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors and COVID-19 hospitalization.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design involving 300 participants.
- Data collection included sociodemographic information, medical history, lifestyle, symptoms, and dietary habits.
- Statistical analysis to determine significant associations with hospitalization.
Main Results:
- Hospitalization was linked to symptoms such as fever, cough, joint pain, chills, diarrhea, and shortness of breath.
- Obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases were associated with higher hospitalization rates.
- Older age, urban residence, and specific dietary habits also correlated with increased hospitalization risk.
Conclusions:
- Older age, urban residence, illiteracy, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and symptoms like loss of smell and sneezing are confirmed risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization.
- These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions for high-risk populations.
- Proactive therapeutic and preventive measures can improve outcomes for patients at elevated risk of severe COVID-19.
Objectives:
We aimed to identify the risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated hospitalization to provide evidence for improved clinical care of patients with COVID-19 infection.
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional study among 300 participants. The collected data comprised sociodemographic data, lifestyle habits, physical activity, medical history, anthropometric measurements, COVID-19-related symptoms, dietary habits prior to and after COVID-19 infection, and psychological status.
Results:
Fifty-nine participants were hospitalized. Fever, dry cough, joint pain, chills, diarrhea, and shortness of breath were significantly associated with hospitalization owing to COVID-19. Adults with obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases had higher rates of hospitalization. The findings also showed that residential area and age were related to COVID-19 hospitalization. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that certain dietary habits were associated with hospitalization rates.
Conclusion:
Our study confirmed that older age, urban residence, illiteracy, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and symptoms of loss of smell and sneezing elevated the risk of hospitalization among patients with COVID-19 infection. Patients with a higher risk of hospitalization may benefit from targeted therapeutic and preventive interventions.
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