Analysis of chronic diseases associated to SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and young people in Mexico

Abstract

The emergence of COVID-19, a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, was first reported in December 2019. It then spread in pandemic proportions, creating a human health emergency that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, mainly through droplets of saliva, has been highly effective, depending on the viral variant. The present study provides clinical-epidemiological information on the general population without discriminating by socioeconomic and occupational factors. A total of 8507 positive cases, with 408384 official metadata, were analyzed. These cases correspond to the exponential phase of the first epidemic wave (March-June 2020) in Mexico. The cohort consisted of children and young people up to 20 years of age. The putative risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection due to chronic diseases were also analyzed. In this cohort, the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 3%, with a 9% rate of active infections and a mortality rate of 1%. The greatest association was between COVID-19 and metabolic diseases, with 31%. This is the first study that analyzed the health conditions associated with COVID-19 infection in children and young people in Mexico during the first SARS-CoV-2 epidemic wave, in the absence of acquired or induced immunity factors. The results, although preliminary, may contribute to the management of COVID-19 patients during the prevention and hospitalization stages. Given the sustained expansion of the epidemic and the greater availability of data, it would be useful to make an integrative analysis of the rural population, which has remained active in the labor market given that agriculture is considered an essential activity.