Background:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasis was placed on morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 infections, with less emphasis on COVID-19 patients with comorbid non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The high rate of people of underlying condition NCDs in the United Arab Emirates places the country at higher risk of disease infection and worse clinical outcomes.

Objective:
This study aimed at determining the prevalence of non-communicable diseases among SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to identify predictors for COVID-19 disease severity and clinical outcomes.

Methods:
A retrospective observational study was conducted on patients admitted to Dubai hospitals between January 28, and September 30, 2020. The clinical and demographic data for 34,687 hospital records were analyzed. Bivariate analysis determined associations between comorbidities and COVID-19 severity and multivariable logistic regression analysis identified predictors of COVID-19 severity.

Results:
All co-morbidities were significantly associated with COVID-19 severity in the bivariate analysis (p< 0.05) except for vitamin-D deficiency and chronic lower respiratory diseases. Patients with ischemic heart diseases (AOR: 2.08; 95% CI: 1.37, 3.15), pulmonary and other heart diseases (AOR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.36, 3.32), and chronic kidney diseases (AOR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.01, 3.25), had higher odds of severe COVID-19 symptoms. Suffering from multiple co-morbidities increased the odds of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms substantially in comparison to having only one co-morbidity, (AOR: 2.33; 95% CI: 1.37, 3.97) and (AOR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.76–2.60) respectively.

Conclusion:
This study demonstrates that COVID-19 patients with pre-existing comorbidities require continuous monitoring. The identification of risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection will facilitate the early identification of high-risk populations and ensure the most appropriate preventive measures and medical management for these patients.