Chronic Disease Prevalence and COVID-19 Risk Levels in High School Students

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In our study, we aimed to identify the COVID-19 risk levels of students according to the chronic disease state. METHODS: The study population was composed of high school students in Çorlu district of Tekirdağ province (n=8,926). Students were asked if they had any chronic diseases, İf they use drugs for these chronic diseases, and if they have regular visits to a healthcare institution due to their chronic disease for active follow-up. COVID-19 risk levels were identified Descriptive statistics, chi-square test for categorical data in the comparison of independent groups, and t-test for numerical data was used. The statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 15.71+-1.13 years (min14, max18). 52.27% (n=4,666) of them were male. 9.06% (n=809) of the participants have had at least one chronic disease. The rate of the students who were actively using at least one drug due to chronic disease was 5.96% (n=532) during the study. The rate of participants who have been actively followed up by at least one health institution was 3.71% (n=331). Girls had higher COVID-19 related risks compared to boys (p=0.019). In terms of COVID-19 risk, no significant difference was found in the distribution by age, school type, school category, and grade (p>0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The detecting of the prevalence of chronic diseases in students, could have a positive impact on the course of COVID-19 disease, and this could make it possible to use the limited health resources effectively and to right plan the education system accordingly.

Keywords

• high school
• student
• covid-19 pandemic
• education
• prevalence
• chronic disease