Epidemiological Characteristics of COVID-19 in Chungju City from 2021 July to 2021 December

Cheon-Hoo Jeon; Jungtae Leem; Jeon, Cheon-Hoo; Leem, Jungtae

doi:10.13048/jkm.23030

JKM > Volume 44(3); 2023 > Article

Jeon and Leem: Epidemiological Characteristics of COVID-19 in Chungju City from 2021 July to 2021 December

Original Article

The Journal of Korean Medicine 2023; 44(3): 47-58.

Published online: September 1, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.13048/jkm.23030

Epidemiological Characteristics of COVID-19 in Chungju City from 2021 July to 2021 December

Cheon-Hoo Jeon¹

, Jungtae Leem²^{, 3}^{, *}

¹Division of Infectious Disease Control, Chungju Public Healthcenter

²Research Center of Traditional Korean Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Wonkwang University

³Hanbang Cardio-Renal Syndrome Research Center, School of Korean Medicine, Wonkwang University

Correspondence to: Jungtae Leem, Research Center of Traditional Korean Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Wonkwang University, 460, Iksan-daero, Iksan-si, Jeollabuk-do, 54538, Republic of Korea, E-mail: julcho@naver.com

Received June 29, 2023 Revised July 13, 2023 Accepted August 17, 2023

Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Chungju City from July to December 2021.

Methods

The authors processed and analyzed the epidemiological analysis report written by researcher. The estimated reproduction rate was analyzed using web-based software that calculates time-varying reproduction numbers. The results were analyzed through univariate multiple regression analysis, with a maximum significance level set at 0.05.

Results

During the study period, a total of 1,188 patients were identified, with 7.9% of them progressing to a severe status. The maximum reproduction rate recorded was 3.48. Factors associated with the transition to a severe status included the presence of symptoms at the time of diagnosis, lack of vaccination, and belonging to the age group over 40.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study, it can be strongly supported that the measures implemented in Chungju City, such as social distancing, vaccination, and preemptive diagnostic tests, were appropriate. Furthermore, it demonstrates that Chungju City effectively managed the impact of COVID-19. Korean Medicine Doctors made significant contributions to the epidemiological investigations of COVID-19. To comprehensively manage infectious diseases, it is crucial to provide administrative and legal support and encourage active research to expand the role of Korean Medicine Doctors in this area.

Keywords: COVID-19, Epidemiology, Epidemiology investigation officer

Fig. 1

Number of COVID-19 patients and estimated reproductive number of COVID-19 in Chungju City

Table 1

Numbers of COVID-19 Patients by Monthly from 2021 July to 2021 December

Month	2021.07	2021.08	2021.09	2021.10	2021.11	2021.12	Total
Number of Patients	95	327	117	164	104	381	1188
Number of Deaths^*	0	3	2	1	0	1	8

* Excepted 2 cases are counted at 2022 January.

Table 2

Demographic Characteristic of COVID-19 Patients in Chungju City from 2021 July to 2021 December

(N=1188)
Parameter	Number	Percentage (%)
Age Group (years)
0–9	128	10.8
10–19	171	14.4
20–29	142	12.0
30–39	157	13.2
40–49	173	14.6
50–59	156	13.1
60–69	166	14.0
70–79	77	6.5
80–89	15	1.3
90–99	3	0.2

Gender
Male	649	54.6
Female	539	45.4

Nationality
Domestic	1045	88.0
Foreign	143	12.0

Progress
Mild	1094	92.1
Recovery after transfer	84	7.1
Death after transfer	10	0.8

Underlying disease
No	886	74.6
Yes	302	25.4
Hypertension	165	13.9
Diabetes	85	7.2
Dyslipidemia	67	5.6
Cardiovascular disease	28	2.4

Vaccination
No	502	42.3
Yes	686	57.7

Table 3

Characteristics of Patients with Disease Progression

Parameter	Number of COVID-19 patients in Chungju (N=1188)	Number of patients recovered after transfer (N=84) (%)	Number of patients who died after transfer (N=10) (%)
Age Group (years)
<30	441	8 (1.8)	0 (0.0)
30–39	157	11 (7.0)	0 (0.0)
40–49	173	17 (9.8)	0 (0.0)
50–59	156	26 (16.7)	2 (1.3)
60–69	166	10 (6.0)	4 (2.4)
70–79	77	11 (14.3)	3 (3.9)
80–89	15	1 (6.7)	0 (0.0)
90–99	3	0 (0.0)	1 (33.3)

Gender
Male	649	44 (6.8)	7 (1.1)
Female	539	40 (7.4)	3 (0.6)

Underlying diseases
No	886	51 (5.8)	5 (0.6)
Yes	302	33 (10.1)	5 (1.7)

Vaccination
No	502	55 (11.0)	5 (1.0)
Yes	686	29 (4.2)	5 (0.7)

Table 4

Association between disease progression and prognostic factor of COVID-19 via Multiple Linear Regression Analysis

Parameters	OR¹	95% CI²	p-value
Gender	1.19	0.76–1.88	0.4
Nationality	1.96	0.85–5.36	0.15
Symptoms at the time of diagnosis	2.09	1.18–3.94	0.016^*
Hypertension	1.39	0.74–2.55	0.3
Diabetes	1.30	0.61–2.59	0.5
Dyslipidemia	0.78	0.30–1.84	0.6
Cardiovascular disease	1.65	0.51–4.51	0.4
No Vaccination	3.45	2.04–5.88	<0.001^†

Age Group (years)
0–9	0.00	0.00–79.0	>0.9
10–19	0.54	0.12–2.39	0.4
(Reference: 20–29)	-	-	-
30–39	2.95	0.97–11.0	0.072
40–49	3.96	1.39–14.3	0.018^*
50–59	7.54	2.75–26.7	<0.001^†
60–69	4.55	1.44–17.6	0.015^*
70<	10.4	3.22–41.2	<0.001^†

1 OR: Odds Ratio;

2 CI: Confidence Interval,

* p<0.05;

† p<0.001

Table 5

Proportion of Population and COVID-19 Patient

	Nationwide			Chungju City

	Proportion of population (%)	Proportion of COVID-19 patient (%)	Difference	Proportion of population (%)	Proportion of COVID-19 patient (%)	Difference
Age Group (years)
<10	7.3	8.9	1.6	6.6	10.8	4.2
10–19	9.1	10.9	1.8	8.8	14.4	5.6
20–29	12.9	14.8	1.9	11.3	12.0	0.7
30–39	13.0	14.7	1.7	10.9	13.2	2.3
40–49	15.8	14.3	−1.5	14.4	14.6	0.2
50–59	16.7	13.3	−3.5	17.7	13.1	−4.6
60–69	13.9	14.1	0.2	16.5	14.0	−2.5
70–79	7.2	5.9	−1.3	8.2	6.5	−1.7
80<	4.1	3.1	−1.0	5.8	1.5	−4.3

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