Clinical and epidemiological features of covid-19 deaths in Behbahan county, southwestern Iran, in 2020-2022

Background: The Coronaviridae family is responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has become a global health threat. In Iran, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in Qom on February 19, 2020. The rapid spread of the virus led to a significant number of fatalities, highlighting the need for a detailed analysis of demographic, epidemiological, and clinical factors to enhance public health measures. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the epidemiological, clinical, and demographic features of COVID-19 deaths in Behbahan County, southwestern Iran, in 2020-2022. Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who died from the infection in all hospitals of Behbahan were analyzed. We used a questionnaire including data about the demographic, epidemiologic, and clinical of each patient. Finally, all the results were analyzed by SPSS v. 21. Results: We enrolled 437 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 cases from this period, of whom 61% were men. The highest mortality rate was among those aged 61 to 70 years (27%), and the lowest number was among children and adolescents below 20 years old. The results of the survey also showed that there were 3 main risk factors: diabetes (28%), cardiovascular diseases (25%), and high blood pressure (17%), which contributed to death in these groups. The highest mortality rate occurred in July 2021, followed by June 2020. Conclusion: There was a significant correlation between the age of the patients, the history of at least 1 chronic disease, and the mortality rate in infected patients. For this reason, it is crucial to implement precautionary procedures to reduce the number of deaths among infected people. Thus, the results of the present study can depict a better picture of the patients' condition in Behbahan and provide insight into future approaches.