People with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes died 12 times as often as otherwise healthy individuals infected with the coronavirus in the United States, and are six times more likely to be hospitalised, a report has shown.
The report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on more than 17 lakh coronavirus cases and 1.03 lakh deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, during the first four months of the pandemic between January 22 to May 30.
It showed that men were more likely than women to be worse affected, and the prevalence of hospitalisations and deaths were highest among patients above 70 years of age. These findings are consistent with earlier reports showing the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on people with increased age, underlying medical conditions, and males, it added.
The CDC said the most common underlying conditions reported in people with Covid-19 were heart disease, diabetes and chronic lung disease. Other preexisting conditions included liver disease, kidney disease, neurodevelopmental or intellectual disability, among others.
About 45% of patients who had underlying health conditions were hospitalised, compared with 7.6% of those who do not have chronic health issues. Death from Covid-19 was reported in 19.5% of patients with preexisting health complications, compared with 1.6% of people who did not suffer from chronic illnesses.
Even though Covid-19 is typically more severe among older people, people of any age with underlying medical conditions are at a higher risk if they contract the virus, the report added.
The report also highlighted the disease’s disproportionate impact on the minority groups. Among nearly six lakh people who were infected and for whom the CDC has race and ethnicity information, Hispanic, black, Native American/Alaska Native patients make up a larger proportion of Covid-19 cases relative to their populations, it said.
The United States reported 21.37 lakh cases of the coronavirus and and 1.16 lakh deaths as of Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 81.53 lakh people so far, and killed more than 4.41 lakh.
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