Occurrence and characteristics of elderly With Covid-19 in southern Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-7114.2024.48.13619Keywords:
Test for COVID-19, Elderly Health, Comprehensive health careAbstract
This study aimed to describe the occurrence of COVID-19 in elderly patients treated at public health services in southern Brazil cities and their clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. This is a cross-sectional, observational, and retrospective study. From July 2020 to May 2021, medical records of elderly patients who underwent a test for COVID-19 at the molecular diagnostics laboratory of the University of Cruz Alta were selected. 310 elderly patients, with an average age of 60 to 99 years, were included in the study. Information was collected regarding the result of the RT-qPCR test, gender, symptoms, and comorbidities. We identified that 24.2% of the elderly evaluated in the study had a positive molecular diagnosis for COVID-19. The average age of the sample studied was 69 years (±8.89). Females had a higher proportion of positive cases (69.3%) compared to males (30.7%) (p=0.017). A higher proportion of individuals infected with SARS-Cov2 among those who reported cough, fever >37°C and pre-existing cardiovascular diseases (p = 0.028; 0.015; 0.017 respectively) was also identified. Learning the clinical and sociodemographic profile of the elderly with COVID-19 can contribute to strategies for care and prevention of the disease in this group. The study findings indicate that greater attention should be given to the elderly with heart diseases and those who have fevers and coughs.
References
Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020 Feb. 15;395(10223):497-506. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5
Hu B, Guo H, Zhou P, Shi ZL. Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2021 Mar;19(3):141-154. DOI: 10.1038/s41579-020-00459-7
Peng X, Xu X, Li Y, Cheng L, Zhou X, Ren B. Transmission routes of 2019-nCoV and controls in dental practice. Int J Oral Sci. 2020 Mar. 3;12(1):9. DOI: 10.1038/s41368-020-0075-9
World Health Organization. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Panel, 2022. [access May. 19, 2022]. Available at: https://covid19.who.int/
Lotfi M, Hamblin MR, Rezaei N. COVID-19: Transmission, prevention, and potential therapeutic opportunities. Clin Chim Acta. 2020 Sept.;508:254-266. DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2020.05.044
Chen Y, Klein SL, Garibaldi BT, Li H, Wu C, Osevala NM, et al. Aging in COVID-19: Vulnerability, immunity and intervention. Aging Res Rev. 2021 Jan.;65:101205. DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101205
Bordallo B, Bellas M, Cortez AF, Vieira M, Pinheiro M. Severe COVID-19: what have we learned with the immunopathogenesis? Adv Rheumatol. 2020 Sept. 22;60(1):50. DOI: 10.1186/s42358-020-00151-7
Lima Bezerra PC, Lima LCR, Dantas SC. Covid-19 pandemic and the elderly as a population at risk: aspects for health education. Consider sick, v. 25, 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/ce.v25i0.73307
World Health Organization. Who COVID-19 detailed surveillance data dashboard. [Internet]. 2022. [access on 4 Apr. 2022]. Available at: https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYWRiZWVkNWUtNmM0Ni00MDAwLTljYWMtN2EwNTM3YjQzYmRmIiwidCI6ImY2MTBjMGI3LWJkMjQtNGIzOS04MTBiLTNkYzI4MGFmYjU5MCISImMiOjh9
Dhama K, Patel SK, Natesan S, Vora KS, Yatoo MI, Tiwari R, et al. COVID-19 in the elderly people and advances in vaccination.approaches. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2020 Dec. 1;16(12):2.938-2.943. DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2020.1842683
Muralidar S, Ambi SV, Sekaran S, Krishnan UM. The emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic: Understanding the epidemiology, immune response and potential therapeutic targets of SARS-CoV-2. Biochimie. 2020 Dec.;179:85-100. DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2020.09.018
Perrotta F, Corbi G, Mazzeo G, Boccia M, Aronne L, D'Agnano V, et al. COVID-19 and the elderly: insights into pathogenesis and clinical decision-making. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2020 Aug.;32(8):1.599-1.608. DOI: 10.1007/s40520-020-01631-y
Guimarães AM, Reis LA, de Oliveira AS, Lopes AOS. Perfil epidemiológico de idosos acometidos pela Covid-19. Saúde Coletiva 2023;13(86).
Barbosa IR, Galvão MHR, Souza TAD, Gomes SM, Medeiros ADA, Lima KCD. Incidence and mortality from COVID-19 in the Brazilian elderly population and its relationship with contextual indicators: an ecological study. Rev. Brazil geriatric Gerontol. 2020;23(1):e200171.
Machado CJ, Pereira CCA, Viana BM, Oliveira GL, Melo DC, Garcia de Carvalho JFM, et al. Estimativas de impacto da COVID-19 na mortalidade de idosos institucionalizados no Brasil. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. 2020;25(9):3.437-3.444. DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232020259.14552020
de Moraes EN, Viana LG, Resende LMH, Vasconcellos LS, Moura AS, Menezes A et al. COVID-19 nas instituições de longa permanência para idosos: estratégias de rastreamento laboratorial e prevenção da propagação da doença. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. 2020;25(9):3.445-3.458. DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232020259.20382020
Araújo de Souza, de Araújo Nunes VM, do Nascimento ICS, Delmiro LAM, de Moaris MM, Nobre TTX et al. Vulnerabilidade e fatores de risco associados para Covid-19 em idosos institucionalizados. Revista Eletrônica Acervo Saúde. 2020;13(2)e5947. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25248/reas.e5947.2021
de Araújo PO, Freitas MYGS, Carvalho ESS, Peixoto TM, Servo MLS, Santana LS, et al. Institutionalized elderly: vulnerabilities and strategies to cope with Covid-19 in Brazil. Educ. Enferm. 2021;39(1):e07. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v39n1e07
de Lacerda TTB, Assis MG, de Carvalho PF, Pereira LSM. Did managers of long-term care facilities neglect the functionality of older adults? A survey during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Journal of Infection Control 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2023.05.001
Duarte MQ, Santo MAS, Lima CP, Giordani JP, Trentini CM. COVID-19 e os impactos na saúde mental: uma amostra do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. 2020;25(9):3.401-3.411. DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232020259.16472020
Mafra TKA, Stobbe JC, Rabello RS, Lindemann IL, da Silva SG. A Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Grave na pessoa idosa no contexto da pandemia da covid-19 e seus fatores associados. Rev. Bras. Geriatr. Gerontol. 2023;26:e220158. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1981-22562023026.220158.pt
Novaes HPO, de Oliveira LMS, Gomes NP, Santos AA, Soub J, Duarte MB et al. Estratégias de enfrentamento à COVID-19 em instituições de longa permanência para idosos. Rev Gaúcha Enferm. 2023;44:e20210323. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-1447.2023.20210323.pt
Fórum dos Coredes. Conselhos Regionais de Desenvolvimento do Rio Grande do Sul. [Internet]. 2023. [access on 24 Sept. 2023]. Available at: https://www.forumdoscoredes.org.br/
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Censo Brasileiro de 2022. [Internet]. 2022. [access 20 Sept. 2023]. Available at: https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/
Corman VM, Landt O, Kaiser M, Molenkamp R, Meijer A, Chu DKW, et al. detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR. Euro Survey. 2020;25(3):pii =2000045. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917
Fernández-de-Las-Peñas C, Martín-Guerrero JD, Pellicer-Valero ÓJ, Navarro-Pardo E, Gómez- Mayordomo V, Cuadrado ML, et al. Female Sex Is a Risk Factor Associated with long term Post-COVID Related-Symptoms but note with COVID-19 Symptoms: The LONG-COVID-EXP-CM Multicenter Study. J Clin Med. 2022 Jan. 14;11(2):413. DOI: 10.3390/jcm11020413
Qian J, Zhao L, Ye RZ, Li XJ, Liu YL. Age dependent Gender Differences in COVID-19 in Mainland China: Comparative Study. Clinic infect dis. 2020 Dec. 3;71(9):2.488-2.494. DOI: 10.1093/cid /ciaa683
Kelada M, Anto A, Dave K, Saleh SN. The Role of Sex in the Risk of mortality From COVID-19 Amongst adult Patients: The Systematic Review. Cures. 2020 Aug. 29;12(8):e10114. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.10114
Pilger C, Menon MU, Mathias TADF. Use of health services by elderly people living in the community. Journal of the School of Nursing at USP. 2013;47:213-220. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0080-62342013000100027
Turrini RNT, Cabrelli R, Iwanow Cianciarullo T, Silva Sousa C. Elderly in the family health unit: morbidity and use of health services. Rev René [Internet]. 2014;15(1):89-98. [access May. 19, 2022]. Available at: https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3240/324030684012.pdf
Cascella M, Ranik M, Aleem A, Dulebohn SC, Napoli RD. Features, Evaluation, and treatment of Coronavirus (COVID-19). StatPearls [Internet]. 2022. [access May. 13 2022] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554776/
Bhandari S, Shaktawat AS, Sharma R, Dube A, Kakkar S, Banerjee S, et al. A preliminary clinical-epidemiological portrayal of COVID-19 pandemic at a premier medical institution of North India. Ann Thorac Med. 2020 July-Sept;15(3):146-150. DOI: 10.4103/atm.ATM_182_20
Rodriguez-Morales AJ, Cardona-Ospina JA, Gutiérrez-Ocampo E, Villamizar-Peña R, Holguin-Rivera Y, Escalera-Antezana JP, et al. Clinical, laboratory and imaging features of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta – analysis. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2020 Mar./Apr.;34:101623. DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101623
Pan American Health Organization. Information sheet on COVID-19. [Internet]. 2022. [access May. 13, 2022]. Available at: https://www.paho.org/pt/covid19
Balli S, Sharan S. Physiology, fever. In: StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publication, 2020. [access May. 29, 2022]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562334/
Conti P, Caraffa A, Tetè G, Gallenga CE, Ross R, Kritas SK, et al. mast cells activated by SARS-CoV- 2 release histamine which increases IL-1 levels causing cytokine storm and inflammatory reaction in COVID-19. J Biol regulation homeost agents. 2020 Sept./ Oct.;34(5):1.629-1.632. DOI: 10.23812/20-2EDIT
Song WJ, Hui C, Hull JH, Birring SS, McGarvey L, Mazzone SB, et al. Confronting COVID-19-associated cough and the post-COVID syndrome: role of viral neurotropism, neuroinflammation, and neuroimmune responses. Lancet Respir Med. 2021;9(5):533-544. DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00125-9
Feng Y, Ling Y, Bai T, Xie Y, Huang J, Li J, et al. COVID-19 with Different Severities: A Multicenter study of Clinical Features. Am J Breathe Crit Care Med. 2020 June 1;201(11):1.380-1.388. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202002-0445OC
Guo T, Shen Q, Guo W, He W, Li J, Zhang Y, et al. Clinical Characteristics of Elderly patients with COVID-19 in Hunan Province, China: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study. Gerontology. 2020;66(5):467-475. DOI: 10.1159/000508734
Moccia F, Gerbino A, Lionetti V, Miragoli M, Munaron LM, Pagliaro P, et al. COVID-19-associated cardiovascular morbidity in older adults: a position paper from the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Researches. Geroscience. 2020 Aug.;42(4):1021-1049. DOI: 10.1007/s11357-020-00198-w
Pathangey G, Fadadu PP, Hospodar AR, Abbas AE. angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and COVID-19: patients, comorbidities, and therapies. Am J Physiol lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2021 Mar. 1;320(3):L301-L330. DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00259.2020
Gheblawi M, Wang K, Viveiros A, Nguyen Q, Zhong JC, Turner AJ, et al. Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2: SARS-CoV-2 Receptor and regulator of the Renin-Angiotensin System: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Discovery of ACE2. Circ Res. 2020 May. 8;126(10):1.456-1.474. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.317015
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Revista Contexto & Saúde
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By publishing in Revista Contexto & Saúde, authors agree to the following terms:
The works are licensed under the Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) license, which allows:
Share — to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
Adapt — to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial.
These permissions are irrevocable, provided that the following terms are respected:
Attribution — authors must be properly credited, with a link to the license and indication of any changes made.
No additional restrictions — no legal or technological measures may be applied that restrict the use permitted by the license.
Notes:
The license does not apply to elements in the public domain or covered by legal exceptions.
The license does not grant all rights necessary for specific uses (e.g., image rights, privacy, or moral rights).
The journal is not responsible for opinions expressed in the articles, which are the sole responsibility of the authors. The Editor, with the support of the Editorial Board, reserves the right to suggest or request modifications when necessary.
Only original scientific articles presenting research results of interest that have not been published or simultaneously submitted to another journal with the same objective will be accepted.
Mentions of trademarks or specific products are intended solely for identification purposes, without any promotional association by the authors or the journal.
License Agreement (for articles published from September 2025): Authors retain copyright over their article and grant Revista Contexto & Saúde the right of first publication.
