Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Cureus
Abstract
Background
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus discovered in 2019. Its impact on the world continues to be studied due to the significant death toll of the disease. As the COVID-19 pandemic remains ongoing, examining the association of COVID-19 with comorbidities and resulting mortality is necessary. This study focuses on population health outcomes with COVID-19 infection and hyperlipidemia (total cholesterol greater than or equal to 200 mg/dL) as a comorbidity, including potential associations with age and sex.
Methods
As a retrospective analytical study, patients were divided into three populations based on COVID-19 and/or hyperlipidemia based on the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) codes reported in the electronic medical record system at Freeman Health System (FHS) in Southwest Missouri from April 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. Wald’s methods and two sample proportion summary hypotheses with confidence intervals (CIs) were used for comparison. The populations were subdivided and analyzed for age and sex differences.
Results
Patients with both COVID-19 and hyperlipidemia had a higher mortality rate than patients with COVID-19 and without hyperlipidemia and patients with hyperlipidemia and without COVID-19; patients with COVID19 and without hyperlipidemia had a higher mortality rate than patients with hyperlipidemia and without COVID-19. All comparisons across these populations were statistically significant (p-value < 0.05). While increased age was associated with increased mortality in all groups, sex was not predictive in this regard.
Conclusion
Our study provides insights into variables affecting COVID-19 outcomes in a rural Midwestern population by showing how the comorbidity hyperlipidemia contributes to increased mortality.
DOI
10.7759/cureus.48211
Publication Date
11-3-2023
Keywords
cardiovascular disease, serum lipid levels, preventative care, missouri, covid-19, coronavirus, cholesterol, midwest, rural, hyperlipidemia
ISSN
2168-8184
Recommended Citation
Steffes R, Christensen S, Schreck L, Beyersdorfer N, Goade DS, Johnson K, Stahl G, Ford NR, Arnce R. A Retrospective Analysis of Hyperlipidemia and COVID-19 Outcomes Investigated in a Rural Midwestern Population. Cureus. 2023; 15(11). doi: 10.7759/cureus.48211.
