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twenty-seven per cent of canadians at risk of severe covid
worldwide, 1.7 billion people have at least one underlying condition that puts them at risk of hospitalization: says study.
jun 19 2020
2 minute read
one in five people worldwide are at risk for serious covid-19 illness. stock/getty
if you’ve been wondering just how at risk you are from covid 19, the answer is in: one in 5 people are at increased risk of severe disease, according to a new study published in the lancet global health.
“about one in five individuals worldwide could be at increased risk of severe covid-19, should they become infected, due to underlying health conditions, but this risk varies considerably by age,” write the authors in the study.
“we estimated that 1.7 billion people, comprising 22 per cent of the global population, have at least one underlying condition that puts them at increased risk of severe covid-19 if infected (ranging from under five per cent of those younger than 20 years to over 66 per cent of those aged 70 years or older),” reads the study.
in canada, 27 per cent of the population have at least one pre-existing health condition that would be put them at risk of serious disease, and 1.8 million would need to be hospitalized. those individuals with cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes are most at risk, according to the study. other recent studies have also included hypertension and being immunosuppressed as risk factors.
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severe disease is defined by the world health organization as having severe acute respiratory illness, such as fever and a cough or shortness of breath requiring hospitalization. people who become severely ill need to be hospitalized and often require supplemental oxygen or a ventilator to help them breathe. many also suffer from cardiovascular issues brought on by system-wide inflammation, such as heart attacks or strokes, or kidney damage.
the study’s authors, who are from the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine , estimate that 349 million people or 4 per cent of the global population are at increased risk of severe covid-19 and would require hospital admission if infected. those over 70 are at the highest risk of hospitalization of serious symptoms while those under age 20 are at the lowest risk.
the researchers relied on population estimates and information gathered about 188 countries from the 2017 global burden of diseases, injuries and risk factors study . the aim of their study was to educate policymakers about which segments of the population are most vulnerable to ensure measures are developed to protect these individuals. the study did not factor in poverty and obesity, which have been identified in previous studies as large risk factors for covid-19.
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