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Mortality Comparison of COVID-19, Influenza Among Hospitalized Older Adults
Mortality rates were higher among hospitalized older adults (OAs) with COVID-19 vs influenza, according to study findings published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
With influenza and COVID-19 notable sources of mortality and morbidity among OAs, researchers sought to compare outcomes of the 2 infections among hospitalized OAs.
A retrospective study of 30-day mortality was conducted by researchers among veterans aged 65 years and older who were either hospitalized from March 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 with COVID-19 or from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2019 from influenza A/B.
Data was taken from the Veterans Affairs Health Care System and infection was determined by positive PCR tests or influenza tests used in the Veterans Affairs system.
Results showed 7867 veterans were admitted with influenza and 15,474 were admitted with COVID-19 with mean ages of 75.8 (8.3) and 76.1 (7.8) years.
Study authors noted that in the COVID-19 and influenza cohorts 97.7% and 97.4% were male and 66.9% and 76.4% were white.
Furthermore, the odds ratio for 30-day mortality from COVID-19 vs influenza was 6.61 (5.74-7.65) when cohorts were combined. While researchers determined a significant interaction between frailty and infection with COVID-19, age and COVID-19 showed no significance.
A greater 30-day mortality was associated with older age (p: COVID-19: <0.001, Influenza: <0.001) and for frail compared with robust individuals (p for trend: COVID-19: <0.001, Influenza: <0.001) when the cohorts were separated.
“However, odds of mortality were higher at every level of frailty among those admitted with influenza compared to COVID-19,” concluded researchers. “Prevention will remain key to reducing mortality from viral illnesses among older adults.”
Reference:
Seligman B, Charest B, Ho Y-L, et al. 30-day mortality following COVID-19 and influenza hospitalization among US veterans aged 65 and older. J Am Geriatr Soc. Published online April 26, 2022. doi:10.1111/jgs.17828
