Impact of Age and Clinico-Biochemical Parameters on Clinical severity of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Introduction: The surge in novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leading to COrona VIrus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has overwhelmed the health system. To help health-care workers and policy makers prioritize treatment and to decrease the burden on health systems caused by COVID-19, clinical severity along with various clinico-biochemical parameters was evaluated by designing a cross-sectional study comprising of 236 SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from Kashmir valley, India. Methods: Briefly, Real time Polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for the confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The principles of spectrophotometry and chemiluminescent micro particle immunoassay (CMIA) were employed to estimate the levels of Glucose, TSH and 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in serum of infected patients. Results: A total of 236 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 were taken for this cross-sectional study. Patients with COVID-19 had a male predominance (72.9% vs 27.1%) and higher prevalence of 25-hydroxy vitamin D deficiency (72.0% vs 28.0%) with a mean 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels of 24.0 +/- 13.9 in ng/ml. We observed a varied clinical spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 infection with 36.4%, 23.7% and 29.7% patients having mild, moderate and severe disease respectively. We observed that severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection was significantly associated with older age group, hypertension, low TSH levels and 25-hydroxy vitamin D deficiency. Discussion/Conclusion: We conclude that not only old age but hypertension and low levels of TSH and 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D Levels could significantly lead to clinical severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.