The novel coronavirus has travelled from one part of the world to the rest largely anonymously. Anybody can be a novel coronavirus patient. But some groups are now understood to be more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2, the new virus that causes Covid-19, a disease that aggravates co-morbid complications.
A study published in The Lancet has identified seven factors that make a person more prone to contract a novel coronavirus infection. These are increasing age, being men, social deprivation, cramped living or high population density, obesity, chronic kidney disease and also ethnicity.
OLD AND MEN: AGEING MEN AT RISK
The study found that adults were at increased risk compared to children. People aged 40-64 years were more at risk compared to younger adults. Old age people — 75 years and older — were at the greatest risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, the researchers found.
The prevalence of coronavirus infection was found in less than 5 per cent among those below the age of 18, and almost four times as high in people aged 40 years and older. Clinical experience worldwide shows that the older people are at increased risk of serious or fatal illness due to coronavirus infection.
The Lancet study also confirmed previous research showing that Covid-19 affected men more than women. This difference is more marked among people aged 30-65 years. Around half of cases, examined for this study, were of those older than 50 years.
OBESITY AND KIDNEYS
Covid-19 has been found to aggravate pre-existing conditions. Doctors have found people with previous heart, lungs and kidney conditions to be more risk-prone in the case of coronavirus infection.
The study, however, found kidney ailment and obesity as conditions for increased contractibility of novel coronavirus infection. It says, “Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection could be different, and we found no evidence of an association between these conditions [hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease] and a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.”
“We found that chronic kidney disease and obesity were associated with testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. Both chronic kidney disease and obesity have been associated with increased risk of other respiratory infections,” the researchers said in a key differentiating finding.
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