Study Population
531 adult individuals (214 females, 40%) mean age 68±14 years (range 25 - 100 years) with fever, cough, and shortness of breath confirmed as having SARS-CoV-2 infection were studied. Their disease was classified as mild in 191 cases (36%) and severe or very severe in 340 patients (64%). The demographic and clinical features of the study population are summarized in table 1.
Male gender was significantly associated with severe disease (71% of males vs 53.7% of females, p = 0.001), and consequently, men were more likely to be admitted to intensive care units (18.3% vs 10.3% in female, p = 0.01).
Smokers had a significantly higher prevalence of coronary heart disease (35.2% vs 24.1%, p= 0.023), and intensive care admission (22.9% vs 14.1%, p=0.032) than non-smokers. Male smokers showed an even higher prevalence of coronary heart disease (39.7% vs 21.6% in female, p=0.002) and thrombosis (19.2% vs 9.5, p=0.027) than female smokers. (table 1).