As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across India, the center shared a list of “risk factors” that could increase a person’s susceptibility to Covid-19 on Monday. The list was posted to the government’s #IndiaFightsCorona Twitter account to keep people informed of the crisis. The Covid-19 risk factors, which include diabetes, age, smoking, and certain cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, are likely to increase a person’s chances of developing coronavirus disease.
Here is the list of risk factors that could increase susceptibility to Covid-19:
1. People aged 60 and over: The Union’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stipulates in its official guidelines on Covid-19 that older people, especially people over 60 years of age, are more likely to develop coronavirus disease and develop a serious illness. According to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the risk of developing serious illness with Covid-19 increases with age, with older adults being more likely to need hospitalization when receiving Covid-19 compared to younger adults. More than 80% of deaths from Covid-19 occur in people over the age of 65, the CDC warned. It is recommended that the elderly be constantly monitored and urgently seek help as soon as it is needed.
2. Those who smoke: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking tobacco increases the risk factors associated with Covid-19. While there is currently a lack of well-designed, peer-reviewed population-based studies to properly define the link between SARS-CoV-2 infection and smoking, a study by researchers at King’s College London in January showed that smokers were more likely to do so are hospitalized for Covid-19 and are more likely to have a higher symptom burden than non-smokers.
3. People with non-communicable diseases (NCDs): Certain noncommunicable diseases in people increase their susceptibility to Covid-19, making them more susceptible to contracting coronavirus disease. These include:
i) cardiovascular diseases – These include heart diseases such as heart failure, diseases of the coronary arteries, cardiomyopathies or high blood pressure. According to the WHO, a meta-analysis found that the above factors increase the likelihood of severe Covid-19 by 2.3, 2.9 and 3.9 times, respectively. Another study found that high blood pressure increased the risk of mortality from Covid-19 by 3.5 times, according to the WHO in its guidelines on Covid-19 and NCDs.
ii) Chronic respiratory disease – These include chronic lung diseases such as moderate to severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, scarred lung tissue or interstitial lung disease (including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis), cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs). A study in the UK found that the presence of the above conditions increased the risk of serious complications or death for Covid-19 patients, according to a WHO report.
iii) diabetes – The United Nations Interagency Task Force on NCDs reported in a systematic review that people with diabetes are up to three times more likely to have severe symptoms or die of Covid-19, and that the situation is worse for people with uncontrolled diabetes. The American Diabetes Association says that while there aren’t enough studies to show whether people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are more likely to get Covid-19 than the general population, it is evident that diabetics with higher chances of developing Covid-19, worse complications once they get it, and possibly higher chances of developing severe symptoms and complications.
iv) cancer – Severe Covid-19 is more common in cancer patients. A multicenter study conducted in Wuhan, China and published in The Lancet Medical Journal last year showed that the death rate from Covid-19 was significantly increased in cancer patients and particularly high in those with blood cancer. A new study in January this year also found that patients with inactive cancer who are currently not undergoing treatment for the deadly disease are at a significantly higher risk of serious illness from Covid-19.
