People with high BP, Diabetes or Obesity, more likely to die from Covid-19

COVID-19 patients

Doctors at NYU Langone Health in New York analyzed more than 4,000 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in March.

The study found that those over age 65 or who were significantly overweight, carrying an extra 80 to 100 pounds, were more likely to be hospitalized.

Patients with low oxygen levels and signs of inflammation on lab tests were most likely to be critically ill.

The most surprising finding was the strong tie between obesity and critical illness, said lead researcher Christopher Petrilli, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine.

Overweight patients who were under age 60 were twice as likely to be hospitalized as their thinner peers, while those who were obese were three times as likely to need intensive care, the study found.

The results are apt because Obesity is a pro-inflammatory state: People who carry extra weight have higher levels of immune response and inflammation, Petrilli told Bloomberg.

Three of the most-powerful risk factors for severe disease all have a genetic component: high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

New York state, which is closely tracking people who died from Covid-19, found that almost 90 percent had other health conditions.

The most common were high blood pressure, found in 56 percent of the 10,834 deaths through April 13, diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease.

This trend is also likely playing out in Nigeria as most deaths from the virus have been of people with an underlying disease who are older including the late Chief of Staff to the President, who was said to have had a history of Diabetes.