Epidemiology and risk factors for adult gliomas died by respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study

Background: The research on epidemiology of gliomas died of respiratory diseases (RDs) is very scarce. The study aimed to explore the epidemiology and risk factors for adult gliomas death from respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Adult gliomas patients (age >= 18 years) diagnosed between 2020 and 2021 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity score matching analysis was used to reduce confounding bias between gliomas died of respiratory diseases and died of gliomas directly. The Cox proportional hazards regression model and Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival curves were used for survival analyses in the matched groups. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify risk factors for dying of respiratory diseases in the entire population. Results: Among 9315 eligible adult gliomas enrolled in the study, 39.4% died from gliomas, 1.0% from respiratory diseases, and 61.4% survived. Gliomas who died from respiratory diseases had a trend towards a higher risk of death (HR = 1.35, P = 0.031). Surgery did not increase the all-cause mortality risk (HR = 0.86, P = 0.327). The K-M survival curves suggested a worse prognosis for dying from respiratory diseases. Those who died from RDs had a shortened median survival (median 3 months) compared with those who died from gliomas directly (median 5 months). Multivariable logistic regression models indicated that those aged >= 65 years, with median household income < 75,000$/year, and not receiving surgery had a higher risk of dying from RDs. Conclusions: RDs have become a crucial cause of death for gliomas. Those with advanced age and lower median household income have a higher risk of dying from respiratory diseases. Surgical treatment has been found to be safe for glioma patients and has been shown to reduce the risk of glioma patients dying from respiratory diseases. The study provides valuable insights for the perioperative management of gliomas patients in the post-pandemic era.