November 3, 2020

The Impact of Substance Use Disorder on COVID-19 Outcomes

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): risk factors

Persons with substance use disorders may be more vulnerable to adverse effects of COVID-19, according to a cohort study of COVID-19 patients (n=11,124) matched for demographic characteristics and presence of diabetes and obesity. Analysis showed that substance use disorder was associated with a 1.84-fold increased risk of hospitalization, 1.45-fold increased risk of ventilator use, and 1.30-fold increased risk of mortality. All associations except for mortality remained significant after further matching for hypertension, COPD, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular diseases, although the magnitude of the associations were reduced.

Baillargeon et al. (Nov 3, 2020). The Impact of Substance Use Disorder on COVID-19 Outcomes. Psychiatric Services. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000534