Trends in co-morbidities during COVID-19 waves: A study of prevalence and dynamics in India

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants have instigated the global COVID-19 pandemic, which unfolded in waves over nearly three years since its emergence in 2019. Variances in host immune responses have resulted in a spectrum of symptoms ranging from asymptomatic to mild, moderate, severe pneumonia-like, or critical conditions. For many individuals, symptomatic conditions exacerbated and posed life-threatening risks, particularly when co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular diseases (CVD), hypertension, malignancies, and HIV were present. This study was aimed to ascertain the co-morbidity trends across the two major waves of COVID-19. Method: In India, COVID-19 patients from the first wave (April 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021) and the second wave (March 1, 2021 to October 1, 2021) were categorized into asymptomatic, moderate, severe, and critical groups, with 100 patients in each category. These patient groups were further subdivided based on co-morbidities and subjected to data analysis. Results: Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and lung complications were identified as common co-morbidities significantly impacting the quality of life for COVID-19 patients. Conclusions: Our data analysis has highlighted the influence of co-morbidities or multi-morbidities in exacerbating severe and critical conditions during both waves 1 and 2 of COVID-19 infections. Keywords: co-morbidities; COVID-19; diabetes mellitus; hypertension; lung complications