Prevalence and Associated Factors of SARS by Covid-19 in Adults and Aged People with Chronic Cardiovascular Disease

Background: The presence of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in individuals infected with COVID-19 may imply a worse prognosis.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) by COVID-19 and to analyze the factors associated with this condition in adults and the elderly with cardiovascular disease in Brazil until the 30th Epidemiological Week of 2020.

Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with data from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (Sistema de Informação de Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe - SIVEP-Gripe), referring to the SARS notification forms of hospitalized individuals in Brazil, between the 1st and 30th Epidemiological Week of 2020. Adults and the aged (≥ 18 years old) with CVD. The dependent variable was SRAG confirmation by COVID-19 and factors related to sociodemographic characteristics, signs and symptoms, and clinical factors were analyzed. Poisson regression with robust variance was applied. The level of significance adopted was 5%.

Results: Notifications from 116,343 individuals were analyzed. Of these, 61.9% were diagnosed with SARS by COVID-19. The prevalence of the outcome was 4% lower in women (95%CI: 0.94-0.99) and 18% lower in rural areas (95%CI: 0.77-0.87). There was a higher prevalence in the 50 to 59 age group (95%CI: 1.09-1.48) and in the northeast region (95%CI: 1.72-1.91). Fever, cough, admission to the ICU, use of ventilatory support, and nosocomial cases were also significantly associated with a higher probability of SRAS by COVID-19 in these individuals.

Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of SARS by COVID-19 in adults and aged people with CVD in Brazil. Factors associated with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, signs, and symptoms were associated.