Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of Korea

Background. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a threat to global health. Though current evidence on the epidemiology of the disease is emerging, very little is known about the predictors of recovery. Objectives. To describe the epidemiology of confirmed COVID-19 patients in the Republic of...

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Main Authors: Ashis Kumar Das, Saji Saraswathy Gopalan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Pulmonary Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/7291698
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author Ashis Kumar Das
Saji Saraswathy Gopalan
author_facet Ashis Kumar Das
Saji Saraswathy Gopalan
author_sort Ashis Kumar Das
collection DOAJ
description Background. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a threat to global health. Though current evidence on the epidemiology of the disease is emerging, very little is known about the predictors of recovery. Objectives. To describe the epidemiology of confirmed COVID-19 patients in the Republic of Korea and identify predictors of recovery. Materials and Methods. Using publicly available data for confirmed COVID-19 cases from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from January 20, 2020, to April 30, 2020, we undertook descriptive analyses of cases stratified by sex, age group, place of exposure, date of confirmation, and province. Correlation was tested among all predictors (sex, age group, place of exposure, and province) with Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Associations between recovery from COVID-19 and predictors were estimated using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results. Majority of the confirmed cases were females (56%), 20-29 age group (24.3%), and primarily from three provinces—Gyeongsangbuk-do (36.9%), Gyeonggi-do (20.5%), and Seoul (17.1%). The case fatality ratio was 2.1%, and 41.6% cases recovered. Older patients, patients from provinces such as Daegu, Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeju-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Jeollanam-do, and those contracting the disease from healthcare settings had lower recovery. Conclusions. Our study adds to the very limited evidence base on potential predictors of recovery among confirmed COVID-19 cases. We call additional research to explore the predictors of recovery and support development of policies to protect the vulnerable patient groups.
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spelling doaj-art-ebe2278f38434c5bb1a7f942df4d469f2025-08-20T02:21:49ZengWileyPulmonary Medicine2090-18362090-18442020-01-01202010.1155/2020/72916987291698Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of KoreaAshis Kumar Das0Saji Saraswathy Gopalan1Research Group, The World Bank, Washington DC, USAHuman Development Department, The World Bank, Washington DC, USABackground. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a threat to global health. Though current evidence on the epidemiology of the disease is emerging, very little is known about the predictors of recovery. Objectives. To describe the epidemiology of confirmed COVID-19 patients in the Republic of Korea and identify predictors of recovery. Materials and Methods. Using publicly available data for confirmed COVID-19 cases from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from January 20, 2020, to April 30, 2020, we undertook descriptive analyses of cases stratified by sex, age group, place of exposure, date of confirmation, and province. Correlation was tested among all predictors (sex, age group, place of exposure, and province) with Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Associations between recovery from COVID-19 and predictors were estimated using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results. Majority of the confirmed cases were females (56%), 20-29 age group (24.3%), and primarily from three provinces—Gyeongsangbuk-do (36.9%), Gyeonggi-do (20.5%), and Seoul (17.1%). The case fatality ratio was 2.1%, and 41.6% cases recovered. Older patients, patients from provinces such as Daegu, Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeju-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Jeollanam-do, and those contracting the disease from healthcare settings had lower recovery. Conclusions. Our study adds to the very limited evidence base on potential predictors of recovery among confirmed COVID-19 cases. We call additional research to explore the predictors of recovery and support development of policies to protect the vulnerable patient groups.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/7291698
spellingShingle Ashis Kumar Das
Saji Saraswathy Gopalan
Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of Korea
Pulmonary Medicine
title Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of Korea
title_full Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of Korea
title_fullStr Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of Korea
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of Korea
title_short Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Predictors of Recovery in the Republic of Korea
title_sort epidemiology of covid 19 and predictors of recovery in the republic of korea
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/7291698
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