Having 4 or More Underlying Risk Factors Puts Patients With COVID-19 in Danger

Regardless of vaccination status, having at least 4 disease risk factors (such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, or dementia) puts adults hospitalized due to COVID-19 at higher risk for critical outcomes, according to a 10-state study from the Centers for Disease Control’s VISION Network.

This is one of the first studies to examine and describe how the characteristics of seriously ill patients with COVID-19 and the risk factors associated with hospitalizations changed over time (June 2021 to March 2023).

In this interview, DocWire News spoke with Shaun Grannis, MD, vice president for data and analytics at the Regenstrief Institute, about the study he and Brian Dixon, PhD, interim director of biomedical informatics at the Regenstrief Institute, led and the implications the findings have on the fight against COVID-19.