Work

Determinants of COVID-19 Related Length of Hospital Stays and Long Covid in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Objectives: There is paucity of data on long COVID and how long COVID-19 related hospitalisations can last for and what factors can determine them. This study identified the social and demographic determinants of COVID-19 related length of hospitalisations as well as that of long COVID, an emerging long-term sequela of COVID-19, in GhanaMethod: Data of 2,334 patients clinically seen at the main COVID-19 treatment centre in Ghana from March 2020 to August 2021 were included in this cross-sectional study. The patients’ clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, such as age, education level and comorbidities, were included as the explanatory variables. The dependent variables were length of COVID-19 hospitalisations and long COVID, defined by persistent COVID-19 symptoms lasting more than four weeks after initial COVID-19 infection. Negative binomial with a log link and binary logistic regressions were fitted to examine the determinants.Result: Of the 2,334 patients, 60.1% were men and 57.5% were 30-59 years old. Most of them (98.1%) survived. The nearly 2% that died spent fewer days (4.53±4.19 days) in hospital than those who survived (4.73±5.96 days). Also, about 2% of the patients had long COVID. Of that, the majority were men (72%), and had both hypertension and diabetes (14%). In the negative binomial regression, education level, nationality and comorbidities were positively associated with length of hospitalisation. On average, COVID-19 patients with both hypertension and diabetes mellitus spent almost 2days longer in hospital than those with no comorbidities (p=0.00, 95%CI=1.42-2.33). Again, the odds of long COVID were 4 times higher in those with both hypertension and diabetes mellitus (p=0.003) than those with no comorbidities. Also, those with tertiary education had higher odds of long COVID than those with primary education (OR=0.23, p=0.12).Conclusion: The presence of both hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and educational level determined both length of hospitalisation and long COVID in Ghana. COVID-19 prevention and management policies should therefore consider these factors.Funding Information: None to declare. Declaration of Interests: None to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethics approval for this study was given by the Research Ethics Committee of Brunel University London.

Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3959668

Authors: Shirley Crankson, Subhash Pokhrel, Nana Kwame Anokye

Institution: Brunel University of London

Language: English

Topic: COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,484