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This analysis adds another risk factor to the list of what we know so far about the risk factors causing high death rates in Covid-19 patients. It is expected that at this time a flood of new information will emerge on a daily basis to keep us engaged with the covid-19 puzzle. Findings of this analysis would obviously require global comparison with multivariate analysis, given that it is a pandemic issue with variable incidence and outcome of the disease in various parts of the globe.
We already have a long list of suspected risk factors thought to be associated with high death rates in covid-19, such as, certain age, elderly group, pre-existing medical conditions, multisystem co-morbidity, stand alone cardiac disease, BME and Asian ethnic minority, disability and vulnerable group, men more than women, socio-economic factors, etc, etc. This study adds another occupational skills based risk factor. However, this data analysis also specifically pointed out that health care workers are relatively at lower risk compared to the current thoughts, and that’s an important note, which is also my view, and I have written about it elsewhere.
There is therefore considerable complexity with so many different unverified data originating in such a short time. I suppose we need large scale global analysis of data about the risk factors for high death rates in Covid-19 to give us a definitive answer to put into practice. At present, if anyone considers all the risk factors for high death rates in Covid-19 that we know so far, as listed above, it would seem almost anybody should be at high risk, except a selected group of healthy women and children, which needs further study.
To the contrary, we have also seen reports of a 102 year old successfully survive the Covid-19 battle, whereas healthy 12 and 13 year olds died. So where does this leave us with who is really at higher risk? I hope the risk factor analysis will go further over time to give us more definitive information to put into practice.
Competing interests:
No competing interests
13 May 2020
sisiresh chakrabarty
Consultant Cardiologist
Consultant Cardiologist, London, harley street, Clinical Examiner, Medical Education and Examination faculty, King’s college London University Medical School Schakrabarty@doctors.org.uk
Risk factors for High Death Rates in Covid-19 – What do we really know?
Dear Editor
This analysis adds another risk factor to the list of what we know so far about the risk factors causing high death rates in Covid-19 patients. It is expected that at this time a flood of new information will emerge on a daily basis to keep us engaged with the covid-19 puzzle. Findings of this analysis would obviously require global comparison with multivariate analysis, given that it is a pandemic issue with variable incidence and outcome of the disease in various parts of the globe.
We already have a long list of suspected risk factors thought to be associated with high death rates in covid-19, such as, certain age, elderly group, pre-existing medical conditions, multisystem co-morbidity, stand alone cardiac disease, BME and Asian ethnic minority, disability and vulnerable group, men more than women, socio-economic factors, etc, etc. This study adds another occupational skills based risk factor. However, this data analysis also specifically pointed out that health care workers are relatively at lower risk compared to the current thoughts, and that’s an important note, which is also my view, and I have written about it elsewhere.
There is therefore considerable complexity with so many different unverified data originating in such a short time. I suppose we need large scale global analysis of data about the risk factors for high death rates in Covid-19 to give us a definitive answer to put into practice. At present, if anyone considers all the risk factors for high death rates in Covid-19 that we know so far, as listed above, it would seem almost anybody should be at high risk, except a selected group of healthy women and children, which needs further study.
To the contrary, we have also seen reports of a 102 year old successfully survive the Covid-19 battle, whereas healthy 12 and 13 year olds died. So where does this leave us with who is really at higher risk? I hope the risk factor analysis will go further over time to give us more definitive information to put into practice.
Competing interests: No competing interests