Estimation of death risk factors associated with the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa

Several issues related to the coronavirus pandemic have not yet been fully and unequivocally identified despite the attempts made in the literature to explain why COVID-19 case-fatality rates vary among countries and why in some developed countries, fatality rates were high. For instance, a study1 investigated the clinical risk factors of COVID-19 fatality, which might include obesity and diabetes.2 Other researchers studied the impact of demographic factors such as age, socioeconomic factors, environmental factors, and all these indicators combined.3 Countries worldwide reported different case-fatality rates (CFR), a measure defined as the proportion of cases of COVID-19 that were fatal within a specified time. However, these differences in mortality rates might not be attributed to just the above-mentioned factors. There were other explanations, including the difference in the number of people tested and the characteristics of the healthcare system. Countries with fewer resources might have a higher mortality risk because their hospitals became overwhelmed with the increased number of infections.