Risk Factors for COVID-19-associated hospitalization: COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

BACKGROUND: Data on risk factors for COVID-19-associated hospitalization are needed to guide prevention efforts and clinical care We sought to identify factors independently associated with COVID-19-associated hospitalizations METHODS: U S community-dwelling adults (≥18 years) hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 during March 1-June 23, 2020 were identified from the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET), a multi-state surveillance system To calculate hospitalization rates by age, sex, and race/ethnicity strata, COVID-NET data served as the numerator and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System estimates served as the population denominator for characteristics of interest Underlying medical conditions examined included hypertension, coronary artery disease, history of stroke, diabetes, obesity [BMI ≥30 kg/m 2], severe obesity [BMI≥40 kg/m 2], chronic kidney disease, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Generalized Poisson regression models were used to calculate adjusted rate ratios (aRR) for hospitalization RESULTS: Among 5,416 adults, hospitalization rates were higher among those with ≥3 underlying conditions (versus without)(aRR: 5 0;95%CI: 3 9, 6 3), severe obesity (aRR:4 4;95%CI: 3 4, 5 7), chronic kidney disease (aRR:4 0;95%CI: 3 0, 5 2), diabetes (aRR:3 2;95%CI: 2 5, 4 1), obesity (aRR:2 9;95%CI: 2 3, 3 5), hypertension (aRR:2 8;95%CI: 2 3, 3 4), and asthma (aRR:1 4;95%CI: 1 1, 1 7), after adjusting for age, sex, and race/ethnicity Adjusting for the presence of an individual underlying medical condition, higher hospitalization rates were observed for adults aged ≥65, 45-64 (versus 18-44 years), males (versus females), and non-Hispanic black and other race/ethnicities (versus non-Hispanic whites) CONCLUSION: Our findings elucidate groups with higher hospitalization risk that may benefit from targeted preventive and therapeutic interventions