Demographic Factors, Comorbidities and Symptoms Prevalent among Patients with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Health Institution in Nigeria

Background: Studies have suggested that patients’ medical data could be correlated with the disease outcome in individuals with COVID-19. There is however, paucity of data on the impact of many of these factors especially in rural and semi-urban environment in Nigeria.

Objective: This study seeks to establish the dynamics of patients tested for COVID-19 in a private tertiary facility located in a semi-urban area in Nigeria, with special focus on their symptoms, comorbidities, and demography.

Methods: The study was a retrospective study carried out using data generated by the Babcock Molecular and Tissue Culture Laboratory of Babcock University Teaching Hospital Ilisan-Remo, Ogun state between October 17, 2020 and July 20, 2021. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.0.

Result: Two thousand five hundred anonymized data were captured in the study. Under the period of review, only 9.5% of the entire tested population were positive to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There was a significant relationship between age distribution, level of education and COVID-19 infection outcome (P < 0.05). Fever (42.6%) was the commonest symptom among the patient population while hypertension (34.6%) and diabetes (31.3%) were the leading comorbidities reported in this study.

Conclusion: Targeted approaches in the areas of tests and enlightenment for certain demographic groups such as those that are elderly and with low level of education is highly recommended.