%0 Journal Article
%@ 2369-2960
%I JMIR Publications
%V 8
%N 5
%P e29343
%T Factors Associated With COVID-19 Death in the United States: Cohort Study
%A Chen,Uan-I
%A Xu,Hua
%A Krause,Trudy Millard
%A Greenberg,Raymond
%A Dong,Xiao
%A Jiang,Xiaoqian
%+ School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St., Houston, TX, 77030, United States, 1 713 500 3930, xiaoqian.jiang@uth.tmc.edu
%K COVID-19
%K risk factors
%K survival analysis
%K cohort studies
%K EHR data
%D 2022
%7 12.5.2022
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Public Health Surveill
%G English
%X Background: Since the initial COVID-19 cases were identified in the United States in February 2020, the United States has experienced a high incidence of the disease. Understanding the risk factors for severe outcomes identifies the most vulnerable populations and helps in decision-making. Objective: This study aims to assess the factors associated with COVID-19–related deaths from a large, national, individual-level data set. Methods: A cohort study was conducted using data from the Optum de-identified COVID-19 electronic health record (EHR) data set; 1,271,033 adult participants were observed from February 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, until their deaths due to COVID-19, deaths due to other reasons, or the end of the study. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to evaluate the risks for each patient characteristic. Results: A total of 1,271,033 participants (age: mean 52.6, SD 17.9 years; male: 507,574/1,271,033, 39.93%) were included in the study, and 3315 (0.26%) deaths were attributed to COVID-19. Factors associated with COVID-19–related death included older age (≥80 vs 50-59 years old: hazard ratio [HR] 13.28, 95% CI 11.46-15.39), male sex (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.57-1.80), obesity (BMI ≥40 vs <30 kg/m2: HR 1.71, 95% CI 1.50-1.96), race (Hispanic White, African American, Asian vs non-Hispanic White: HR 2.46, 95% CI 2.01-3.02; HR 2.27, 95% CI 2.06-2.50; HR 2.06, 95% CI 1.65-2.57), region (South, Northeast, Midwest vs West: HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.33-1.98; HR 2.50, 95% CI 2.06-3.03; HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.11-1.64), chronic respiratory disease (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.12-1.32), cardiac disease (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.19), diabetes (HR 1.92, 95% CI 1.75-2.10), recent diagnosis of lung cancer (HR 1.70, 95% CI 1.14-2.55), severely reduced kidney function (HR 1.92, 95% CI 1.69-2.19), stroke or dementia (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.15-1.36), other neurological diseases (HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.59-1.98), organ transplant (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.09-1.67), and other immunosuppressive conditions (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.01-1.46). Conclusions: This is one of the largest national cohort studies in the United States; we identified several patient characteristics associated with COVID-19–related deaths, and the results can serve as the basis for policy making. The study also offered directions for future studies, including the effect of other socioeconomic factors on the increased risk for minority groups. 
%M 35377319
%R 10.2196/29343
%U https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e29343
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/29343
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35377319