Factors that Affect Vulnerability

 

Based on findings till today we know that people who are at higher risk of infection from COVID-19 are older adults and anyone with underlying medical conditions. People who are immunocompromised are among those who are more prone to infection and are at higher probability for severe illness and potentially fatal outcomes.

Being immunocompromised is having a weakened immune system, which decreases the body’s ability to fight infections and more diseases. Many conditions can cause a person to have a suppressed immune system.

Age

Studies have found that virus patients older than 80 were at least 20 times more likely to succumb to the disease than people in their 50s, and hundreds of times more likely to die than those below the age of 40.

Deprivation

A strong link was found between deprivation and increased morbidity. Researchers believe that the mortality risk associated with living in poverty may increase over time.

Diabetes

Diabetes patients are found to be at higher risk, particularly those with poor control over blood sugar levels. Similar trends have been found in previous studies.

Severe asthma

Researchers found that people suffering with severe asthma, were more likely to die from Covid-19. Those with severe asthma were more than double as likely to die from the disease compared with mild asthmatics.

Obesity

Anyone with a body mass index (BMI) above 40 was found to be significantly more likely to die from the disease compared those with lower BMI scores. Two previous studies in France and New York indicated that obese Covid-19 patients need more treatment. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly believed that his obesity was one of the reasons why he was rushed to hospital after he caught the virus.

Heart, kidney, liver, and respiratory diseases

Having chronic diseases affecting any of these organs increase the likelihood of dying of Covid-19, researchers found.

The results agree with a study of hospitalized UK patients with the disease that indicated increased risk of death with cardiac, pulmonary and kidney disease, malignancy, obesity and dementia, and a large Chinese study which, though lacking age correction, suggested cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, respiratory disease, and cancers to be associated with increased mortality rates.

Compromised immune system

Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or psoriasis were also found to increase the risk of dying from Covid-19.

Smoking

Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of severe coronavirus infection by dampening the immune response of the body. Nicotine may control the immune system, stopping it from dangerously over-reacting to infection — a phenomenon found to kill many Covid-19 patients.