The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases.
Background The coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that has caused extensive ravages worldwide since being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Unlike initially predicted by WHO, the incidence and severity of COVID-19 appeared milder in many Low-to-Mid...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2c86b13abb374be7bc8de974f8c465ec 2023-05-15T15:15:36+02:00 The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. Taehee Chang Bong-Kwang Jung Jong-Yil Chai Sung-Il Cho 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 https://doaj.org/article/2c86b13abb374be7bc8de974f8c465ec EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 https://doaj.org/article/2c86b13abb374be7bc8de974f8c465ec PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 10, p e0010826 (2022) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 2022-12-30T21:41:01Z Background The coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that has caused extensive ravages worldwide since being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Unlike initially predicted by WHO, the incidence and severity of COVID-19 appeared milder in many Low-to-Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). To explain this noticeable disparity between countries, many hypotheses, including socio-demographic and geographic factors, have been put forward. This study aimed to estimate the possible association of parasitic diseases with COVID-19 as either protective agents or potential risk factors. Methods/principal findings A country-level ecological study using publicly available data of countries was conducted. We conceptualized the true number of COVID-19 infections based on a function of test positivity rate (TPR) and employed linear regression analysis to assess the association between the outcome and parasitic diseases. We considered demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic confounders previously suggested. A notable heterogeneity was observed across WHO regions. The countries in Africa (AFRO) showed the lowest rates of COVID-19 incidence, and the countries in the Americas (AMRO) presented the highest. The multivariable model results were computed using 165 countries, excluding missing values. In the models analyzed, lower COVID-19 incidence rates were consistently observed in malaria-endemic countries, even accounting for potential confounding variables, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, the population aged 65 and above, and differences in the duration of COVID-19. However, the other parasitic diseases were not significantly associated with the spread of the pandemic. Conclusions/significance This study suggests that malaria prevalence is an essential factor that explains variability in the observed incidence of COVID-19 cases at the national level. Potential associations of COVID-19 with schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs) are worthy of further ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 16 10 e0010826 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Taehee Chang Bong-Kwang Jung Jong-Yil Chai Sung-Il Cho The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background The coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that has caused extensive ravages worldwide since being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Unlike initially predicted by WHO, the incidence and severity of COVID-19 appeared milder in many Low-to-Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). To explain this noticeable disparity between countries, many hypotheses, including socio-demographic and geographic factors, have been put forward. This study aimed to estimate the possible association of parasitic diseases with COVID-19 as either protective agents or potential risk factors. Methods/principal findings A country-level ecological study using publicly available data of countries was conducted. We conceptualized the true number of COVID-19 infections based on a function of test positivity rate (TPR) and employed linear regression analysis to assess the association between the outcome and parasitic diseases. We considered demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic confounders previously suggested. A notable heterogeneity was observed across WHO regions. The countries in Africa (AFRO) showed the lowest rates of COVID-19 incidence, and the countries in the Americas (AMRO) presented the highest. The multivariable model results were computed using 165 countries, excluding missing values. In the models analyzed, lower COVID-19 incidence rates were consistently observed in malaria-endemic countries, even accounting for potential confounding variables, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, the population aged 65 and above, and differences in the duration of COVID-19. However, the other parasitic diseases were not significantly associated with the spread of the pandemic. Conclusions/significance This study suggests that malaria prevalence is an essential factor that explains variability in the observed incidence of COVID-19 cases at the national level. Potential associations of COVID-19 with schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs) are worthy of further ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Taehee Chang Bong-Kwang Jung Jong-Yil Chai Sung-Il Cho |
author_facet |
Taehee Chang Bong-Kwang Jung Jong-Yil Chai Sung-Il Cho |
author_sort |
Taehee Chang |
title |
The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. |
title_short |
The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. |
title_full |
The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. |
title_fullStr |
The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. |
title_full_unstemmed |
The notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of COVID-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. |
title_sort |
notable global heterogeneity in the distribution of covid-19 cases and the association with pre-existing parasitic diseases. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 https://doaj.org/article/2c86b13abb374be7bc8de974f8c465ec |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 10, p e0010826 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 https://doaj.org/article/2c86b13abb374be7bc8de974f8c465ec |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010826 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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e0010826 |
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