Prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 in a multiethnic cohort of patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases in Qatar
Karima Becetti, Eman Satti, Betsy Varughese, Yousef Al Rimawi, Rawan Sheikh Saleh, Nawal Hadwan, Miral H Gharib, Mohamed Awni Al Kahlout, Essa Abuhelaiqa, Hadil Afif Ashour, Rajvir Singh, Samar Al Emadi
Qatar Medical Journal, doi:10.5339/qmj.2022.37
Background: Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) are characterized by immune dysfunction and associated with an increased risk of infections, which were of significant concern during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Variable rates of COVID-19 incidence have been reported in patients with ARDs; however, the true effect of this infection on this patient population is still unclear. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 prevalence among a multiethnic cohort of patients with ARDs in Qatar. Material and Methods: We used telephonic surveys to collect demographic and clinical information of patients with ARD in Qatar between April 1 and July 31, 2020, including any close contact with a COVID-19 case at home or work and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. An electronic medical records review was conducted to verify pertinent data collected through the surveys. Prevalence with 95% confidence interval (CI), Student's t-tests, and chi-square/Fisher's exact tests were used for univariate analyses, whereas multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with COVID-19. Results: The study included 700 patients with ARD (mean age, 43.2 ^12.3 years), and 73% were female. Until July 2020, 75 (11%, 95% CI 9% -13%) patients had COVID-19. Factors associated with COVID-19 included being a man (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.56, 95% CI 1.35-4.88, p ¼ 0.01) and having close contact with a COVID-19 case (aOR 27.89, 95% CI 14.85-52.38, p ¼ 0.01). Disease severity and rheumatic medications had no significant
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