the relationship between covid-19-induced death and chronic diseases

Background: morbidity and mortality due to coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) are mainly related to age and comorbidity diseases (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, malignancies, etc.). these conditions are associated with poorer clinical outcomes and sometimes lead to longterm hospitalization. the current study aimed to investigate the relationship between covid-19induced mortality and various chronic diseases in patients admitted to ali ibn abitaleb hospital in rafsanjan city, iran, in 2020. methods: in this retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study, patients with covid-19 referring to ali ibn abitaleb hospital in rafsanjan city, iran, from march 2020 to september 2020 were assessed. the required data were collected using patients’ records and telephone calls by a researcher-made checklist and analyzed by independent samples t-test, chi-squared test,fisher’s exact test, kaplan-meier plots, and multivariate regression analysis in spss v. 20.results: this study assessed 238 hospitalized patients with covid-19. the risk of death was significantly higher in patients aged over 75 years; they were 5.5 times more prone to expire, compared to the youngest age group (p<0.001). chronic diseases, such as hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, and various cancers were more prevalent in patients who expired, compared to those who survived (p le;0.05). of the patients who died, 73.8% were transferred to the intensive u (icu), while only 7.5% of surviving patients were transferred to the icu (p<0.001). longer hospitalization was associated with an increased risk of death among patients with underlying diseases and hypertension (p<0.05).conclusion: this study identified the role of chronic diseases and other important indicators in the survival of patients with covid-19 who were admitted to a hospital in rafsanjan. it is recommended that nurses and healthcare staff consider these findings in the care of patients with covid-19.