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Clinical Differences Between Elderly and Non-elderly Patients with COVID-19

Fatma Demirci Üçsular1, Gülistan Karadeniz1, Gülru Polat1

  • 1Department of Chest Disease University of Health Sciencies, Dr Suat Seren Chest Disease and Surgery Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.

Turkish Thoracic Journal
|May 17, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Elderly patients with COVID-19 experience more severe disease, higher comorbidity rates, and significantly increased mortality. Age over 56 is a key predictor of mortality in these patients.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Elderly individuals are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, exhibiting higher comorbidity frequencies and mortality rates.
  • The severity of COVID-19 disease is notably increased in older populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the characteristics, severity, comorbidities, and mortality rates of COVID-19 in elderly versus nonelderly patients.
  • To identify specific risk factors and predictors of mortality in elderly COVID-19 patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study including 469 COVID-19 patients, divided into elderly (≥65 years) and nonelderly (<65 years) groups.
  • Analysis of clinical data, comorbidities, hospitalization duration, and survival outcomes.
  • Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine age as a predictor of mortality.

Main Results:

  • Elderly patients showed significantly higher rates of severe pneumonia (31% vs. 12.6%), critical illness (16% vs. 5.8%), and comorbidities (85% vs. 37.2%).
  • Mortality was 3.5 times higher in the elderly group (22.8% vs. 7.3%), with a shorter expected survival time.
  • Age > 56 years was identified as a significant predictor of mortality with high sensitivity (86%) and specificity (66.83%).

Conclusions:

  • COVID-19 presents with greater severity, more frequent comorbidities, and higher mortality in elderly individuals.
  • An age cutoff of 56 years can serve as a valuable tool for predicting mortality risk in COVID-19 patients.
Abstract

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