Risk Factors for COVID-19 Mortality in Malaysia

• Published in: Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
• Main Authors: Hanis T.M., Arifin W.N., Musa K.I., Hasani W.S.R., Nawi C.M.N.H.C., Shahrani S.A., Chen X.W., Suliman M.A., Khan E.E.A., Aziz W.A.A., Said M.Z.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85144534294&doi=10.21315%2fmjms2022.29.6.12&partnerID=40&md5=3d37a94304ffa467f92795c222d8f112

Background: Understanding the risks of COVID-19 mortality helps in the planning and prevention of the disease. This study aimed to determine the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality in Malaysia. Methods: Secondary online data provided by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia and Malaysia’s national COVID-19 immunisation programme were used: i) COVID-19 deaths data; ii) vaccination coverage data and iii) population estimate data. Quasi-Poisson regression was performed to determine the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality. Results: Four risk factors were identified: i) vaccination status (partial versus unvaccinated, incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.64; complete versus unvaccinated, IRR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.56; booster versus unvaccinated, IRR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.26); ii) age group (19 years old–59 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.97; 13 years old–18 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.19; 6 years old–12 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.22; below 5 years old versus above 60 years old, IRR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.23); iii) gender (male versus female, IRR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.32) and iv) comorbidity (yes versus no, IRR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.96, 2.32). Conclusion: This study highlighted the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality and the benefit of COVID-19 vaccination, especially of booster vaccination, in reducing the risk of COVID-19 mortality in Malaysia. © Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2022.