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Shah SC, Canakis A, Halvorson AE, Dorn C, Wilson O, Denton J, Hauger R, Hunt C, Suzuki A, Matheny ME, Siew E, Hung A, Greevy RA, Roumie CL. Associations Between Gastrointestinal Symptoms and COVID-19 Severity Outcomes Based on a Propensity Score-Weighted Analysis of a Nationwide Cohort. Gastro Hep Adv 2022; 1:977-984. [PMID: 35966642 PMCID: PMC9357443 DOI: 10.1016/j.gastha.2022.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Background and Aims Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are well-recognized manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Our primary objective was to evaluate the association between GI symptoms and COVID-19 severity. Methods In this nationwide cohort of US veterans, we evaluated GI symptoms (nausea/vomiting/diarrhea) reported 30 days before and including the date of positive SARS-CoV-2 testing (March 1, 2020, to February 20, 2021). All patients had ≥1 year of prior baseline data and ≥60 days follow-up relative to the test date. We used propensity score (PS)-weighting to balance covariates in patients with vs without GI symptoms. The primary composite outcome was severe COVID-19, defined as hospital admission, intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, or death within 60 days of positive testing. Results Of 218,045 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, 29,257 (13.4%) had GI symptoms. After PS weighting, all covariates were balanced. In the PS-weighted cohort, patients with vs without GI symptoms had severe COVID-19 more often (29.0% vs 17.1%; P < .001). When restricted to hospitalized patients (14.9%; n=32,430), patients with GI symptoms had similar frequencies of intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation compared with patients without symptoms. There was a significant age interaction; among hospitalized patients aged ≥70 years, lower COVID-19-associated mortality was observed in patients with vs without GI symptoms, even after accounting for COVID-19-specific medical treatments. Conclusion In the largest integrated US health care system, SARS-CoV-2-positive patients with GI symptoms experienced severe COVID-19 outcomes more often than those without symptoms. Additional research on COVID-19-associated GI symptoms may inform preventive efforts and interventions to reduce severe COVID-19.
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Key Words
- BMI, body mass index
- CDW, Corporate Data Warehouse
- COVID-19
- COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019
- Epidemiology
- GI, gastrointestinal
- ICD, International Classification of Diseases
- ICU, intensive care unit
- Infectious diseases
- OMOP, Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership
- OR, odds ratios
- Outcomes
- PCR, polymerase chain reaction
- PS, propensity score
- RAASi, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors
- SARS-CoV-2
- SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
- SD, standard deviation
- SDR, Shared Data Resource
- SMD, standardized mean differences
- VHA, Veterans Health Administration
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Affiliation(s)
- Shailja C Shah
- Gastroenterology Section, VA San Diego, San Diego, California
- Division of Gastroenterology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California
| | - Andrew Canakis
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Alese E Halvorson
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Chad Dorn
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Otis Wilson
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Jason Denton
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Richard Hauger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego, California
| | - Christine Hunt
- Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
- Gastroenterology Section, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Ayako Suzuki
- Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
- Gastroenterology Section, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Michael E Matheny
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
- VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Health Services Research and Development, Nashville, Tennessee
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Edward Siew
- VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Health Services Research and Development, Nashville, Tennessee
- Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Adriana Hung
- VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Health Services Research and Development, Nashville, Tennessee
- Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Robert A Greevy
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
- VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Clinical Services Research and Development, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Christianne L Roumie
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
- VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Clinical Services Research and Development, Nashville, Tennessee
- VA Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Tennessee Valley Health System, Nashville, Tennessee
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