Interrelationship between noncommunicable diseases, COVID‑19 and sociodemographic index in the economic community of West African States

Abstract

Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCD) increase COVID‑19 morbidity and mortality. Objective: This study aimed to describe the interrelationship between NCD, COVID‑19, and sociodemographic index (SDI) in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Methods: We extracted data from the global burden of disease (GBD) estimates. The GBD was used to estimate variations in epidemiologic data sources, model predictions, and 95% corresponding uncertainty intervals (UIs) for disability‑adjusted life years (DALY). COVID‑19 data were extracted and collated from web‑based repositories as of December 18, 2020. We assessed the strength of association between the number of COVID‑19 cases per thousand population, COVID‑19 deaths, case‑fatality rate, SDI, and DALY due to NCD using Pearson's correlation test. The level of statistical significance was P < 0.01. Results: Ghana’s SDI of 0.56 and DALY% (95% UI) due to NCD of 40.66 (36.05–44.98) was the highest. Ghana had 177 COVID‑19 cases/100,000 population while Niger has 11 cases/100,000 population as of December 18, 2020. Niger’s SDI of 0.16 and DALY% (95% UI) due to NCD of 21.22 (16.72–25.6) were the minimum. We found a strong positive correlation between COVID‑19 cases per thousand population and DALY due to NCD (r = 0.870, P<0.001, n = 15) and a strong positive correlation between SDI and DALY due to NCD (r = 0.647, P = 0.009, n = 15). Conclusion: Countries with higher SDI and DALY due to NCD experienced higher COVID‑19 cases. NCD prevention and control should be promoted to reduce COVID‑19–related mortality and morbidity in the ECOWAS.