Release notice – Impact of COVID-19 in adults with chronic conditions: Emergency department visits
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Published by: The Public Health Agency of Canada
Date published: November 2022
ISSN: 2368-738X
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https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.42.11/12.05
The Public Health Agency of Canada is pleased to announce the release of the fact sheet Impact of COVID-19 in adults with chronic conditions: Emergency department visits.
Based on data from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System and the Discharge Abstract Database, this fact sheet describes the demographics, health characteristics and outcomes of adults (aged 20 years and over) on their first documented emergency department visit (EDV) in Canada with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 diagnosis, between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Relationships between severe EDV outcomes (i.e. admission, transfer to an acute care facility or death) and sex, age and selected chronic conditions are also examined.
Key highlights
- Approximately 1 in 4 adults (aged 20+ years) visiting emergency departments with COVID-19 experienced a severe outcome.
- Adults experiencing a severe outcome were more likely to be male (55.6% vs. 47.7%) and older (average age 67 years vs. 47 years) compared to adults with other outcomes.
- The percentage of adults experiencing a severe outcome increased with age from 5.7% for those aged 20 to 34 years to 69.1% for those aged 80+ years.
- Adults experiencing a severe outcome were more likely to have one or more of 18 chronic conditions compared to adults with other outcomes (49.1% vs. 13.9%).
- Having more chronic conditions was associated with an increased risk of severe outcome: from 15.7% for adults with none of the 18 identified chronic conditions to 71.1% for adults with 4 or more chronic conditions.
For more information, visit the Canada.ca website.