Characteristics, outcomes and risk factors for mortality of 522 167 patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Brazil: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a comprehensive description of demographic, clinical and radiographic characteristics; treatment and case outcomes; and risk factors associated with in-hospital death of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Brazil. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of hospitalised patients diagnosed with COVID-19. SETTING: Data from all hospitals across Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 522 167 hospitalised patients in Brazil by 14 December 2020 with severe acute respiratory illness, and a confirmed diagnosis for COVID-19. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of symptoms and comorbidities was compared by clinical outcomes and intensive care unit (ICU) admission status. Survival was assessed using Kaplan Meier survival estimates. Risk factors associated with in-hospital death were evaluated with multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: Of the 522 167 patients included in this study, 56.7% were discharged, 0.002% died of other causes, 30.7% died of causes associated with COVID-19 and 10.2% remained hospitalised. The median age of patients was 61 years (IQR, 47-73), and of non-survivors 71 years (IQR, 60-80); 292 570 patients (56.0%) were men. At least one comorbidity was present in 64.5% of patients and in 76.8% of non-survivors. From illness onset, the median times to hospital and ICU admission were 6 days (IQR, 3-9) and 7 days (IQR, 3-10), respectively; 15 days (IQR, 9-24) to death and 15 days (IQR, 11-20) to hospital discharge. Risk factors for in-hospital death included old age, Black/Brown ethnoracial self-classification, ICU admission, being male, living in the North and Northeast regions and various comorbidities. Age had the highest HRs of 5.51 (95% CI: 4.91 to 6.18) for patients≥80, compared with those ≤20. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics of patients and risk factors for in-hospital mortality highlight inequities of COVID-19 outcomes in Brazil. As the pandemic continues to unfold, targeted policies that address those inequities are needed to mitigate the unequal burden of COVID-19.

Association of pulse wave velocity with body fat measures at 30 y of age.

OBJECTIVES: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an early marker of arterial stiffness and a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Body fat measures, such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and visceral fat, have been associated with CVD in adulthood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of PWV at 30 y of age using body fat measures. METHODS: In 1982, the maternity hospitals in Pelotas, Brazil, were visited daily and all live births were identified. These infants have been prospectively followed several times. At 30 y, we tried to follow the cohort; the individuals were interviewed and had PWV, anthropometric parameters, abdominal fat, and visceral fat measured. RESULTS: The present study included 1576 individuals. PWV was highly correlated with BMI, WC, visceral fat thickness, and fat mass compared with other body composition measures. In linear regression analysis, the highest regression coefficients were observed for BMI (r = 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.25-0.35), visceral fat thickness (r = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.24-0.35), and fat mass (r = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.24-0.35), even after controlling for potential confounders (sex, race, birth weight, family income, family education, and maternal smoking during pregnancy). CONCLUSION: In the present study, BMI, visceral fat thickness, and fat mass were the strongest body fat measures related to PWV.