Clin Infect Dis
. 2021 May 22;ciab432.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab432. Online ahead of print.
Risk factors for illness severity among pregnant women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection - Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network, 22 state, local, and territorial health departments, March 29, 2020 -March 5, 2021
Romeo R Galang 1 , Suzanne M Newton 1 , Kate R Woodworth 1 , Isabel Griffin 1 , Titilope Oduyebo 1 , Christina L Sancken 1 , Emily O'Malley Olsen 1 , Kathryn Aveni 2 , Heather Wingate 3 , Hanna Shephard 4 , Chris Fussman 5 , Zahra S Alaali 6 , Kristin Silcox 7 , Samantha Siebman 8 , Umme-Aiman Halai 9 , Camille Delgado Lopez 10 , Mamie Lush 11 , Ayomide Sokale 12 , Jerusha Barton 13 , Ifrah Chaudhary 14 , Paul H Patrick 15 , Levi Schlosser 16 , Bethany Reynolds 17 , Nicole Gaarenstroom 18 , Sarah Chicchelly 19 , Jennifer S Read 20 21 , Leah de Wilde 22 , Deborah Mbotha 23 , Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner 1 , Aron J Hall 1 , Van T Tong 1 , Sascha Ellington 1 , Suzanne M Gilboa 1 , CDC COVID-19 Response Pregnancy and Infant Linked Outcomes Team
Affiliations
- PMID: 34021332
- DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab432
Abstract
Background: Pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at increased risk for severe illness compared with nonpregnant women. Data to assess risk factors for illness severity among pregnant women with COVID-19 are limited. This study aimed to determine risk factors associated with COVID-19 illness severity among pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Methods: Pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by molecular testing were reported during March 29, 2020-March 5, 2021 through the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET). Criteria for illness severity (asymptomatic, mild, moderate-to-severe, or critical) were adapted from National Institutes of Health and World Health Organization criteria. Crude and adjusted risk ratios for moderate-to-severe or critical COVID-19 illness were calculated for selected demographic and clinical characteristics.
Results: Among 7,950 pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection, moderate-to-severe or critical COVID-19 illness was associated with age 25 years and older, healthcare occupation, pre-pregnancy obesity, chronic lung disease, chronic hypertension, and pregestational diabetes mellitus. Risk of moderate-to-severe or critical illness increased with the number of underlying medical or pregnancy-related conditions.
Conclusions: Older age and having underlying medical conditions were associated with increased risk of moderate-to-severe or critical COVID-19 illness among pregnant women. This information might help pregnant women understand their risk for moderate-to-severe or critical COVID-19 illness and inform targeted public health messaging.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; illness severity; pregnancy; risk factors.