Comorbidities associated with maternal mortality from COVID-19 in Mexico

In Mexico, there is a syndemic in pregnant women, where the epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases coexists with that of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has been associated with a higher risk of maternal mortality.

To evaluate the association of comorbidities during pregnancy with maternal mortality from COVID-19 in Mexico.

SISVER COVID-19 databases and epidemiological surveillance reports on maternal mortality were used. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association of comorbidities with maternal deaths from COVID-19.

A total of 29,416 pregnant women were evaluated, out of which 39% were positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); the risk of maternal mortality was 3.24 times higher (p < 0.01) for positive in comparison with negative women. COVID-19 is the leading cause of maternal death since July 2020 and explains more than 50% of total deaths in 2021. Chronic kidney disease (odds ratio [OR]: 4.11; p < 0.01) and diabetes (OR: 2.53; p < 0.01) were the two main comorbidities that were positively associated with maternal death from COVID-19.

Comorbidities during pregnancy that are possibly associated with an increase in the inflammatory response and an alteration of the immune response increase the risk of maternal death from COVID-19 in Mexican pregnant women.