Preliminary Estimates of the Prevalence of Selected Underlying Health Conditions Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 — United States, February 12–March 28, 2020

Nancy A. Chow , Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra , Ryan Gierke , Nancy A. Chow , Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra , Ryan Gierke , Aron J. Hall , Michelle M. Hughes , Tamara Pilishvili , Matthew D. Ritchey , Katherine Roguski , Tami H. Skoff , Emily N. Ussery
2020 MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1,480 citations

Abstract

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic (1). As of March 28, 2020, a total of 571,678 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 26,494 deaths have been reported worldwide (2). Reports from China and Italy suggest that risk factors for severe disease include older age and the presence of at least one of several underlying health conditions (3,4). U.S. older adults, including those aged ≥65 years and particularly those aged ≥85 years, also appear to be at higher risk for severe COVID-19-associated outcomes; however, data describing underlying health conditions among U.S. COVID-19 patients have not yet been reported (5). As of March 28, 2020, U.S. states and territories have reported 122,653 U.S. COVID-19 cases to CDC, including 7,162 (5.8%) for whom data on underlying health conditions and other known risk factors for severe outcomes from respiratory infections were reported. Among these 7,162 cases, 2,692 (37.6%) patients had one or more underlying health condition or risk factor, and 4,470 (62.4%) had none of these conditions reported. The percentage of COVID-19 patients with at least one underlying health condition or risk factor was higher among those requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission (358 of 457, 78%) and those requiring hospitalization without ICU admission (732 of 1,037, 71%) than that among those who were not hospitalized (1,388 of 5,143, 27%). The most commonly reported conditions were diabetes mellitus, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease. These preliminary findings suggest that in the United States, persons with underlying health conditions or other recognized risk factors for severe outcomes from respiratory infections appear to be at a higher risk for severe disease from COVID-19 than are persons without these conditions.

Keywords

MedicineCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)DiseaseDiabetes mellitusEnvironmental healthSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Health careCoronavirusEmergency medicineIntensive care medicineInternal medicineInfectious disease (medical specialty)

MeSH Terms

AdultAgedAged80 and overCOVID-19Cardiovascular DiseasesChronic DiseaseCommunicable Disease ControlComorbidityCoronavirus InfectionsDiabetes MellitusFemaleHand DisinfectionHumansLung DiseasesMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsPneumoniaViralPregnancyPrevalenceRisk FactorsSeverity of Illness IndexUnited StatesYoung Adult

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Publication Info

Year
2020
Type
article
Volume
69
Issue
13
Pages
382-386
Citations
1480
Access
Closed

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Cite This

Nancy A. Chow, Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra, Ryan Gierke et al. (2020). Preliminary Estimates of the Prevalence of Selected Underlying Health Conditions Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 — United States, February 12–March 28, 2020. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report , 69 (13) , 382-386. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6913e2

Identifiers

DOI
10.15585/mmwr.mm6913e2
PMID
32240123
PMCID
PMC7119513

Data Quality

Data completeness: 86%