Seven in 10 coronavirus patients are overweight, first data on UK cases show

Initial major audit of coronavirus in UK reveals 70 per cent of cases are men and average age of those needing care is 63

SEVEN in 10 patients admitted to intensive care units in the UK with coronavirus are overweight or obese, the first data on Britain’s cases show.

The research – which examines in detail the first 196 patients to receive critical care for the virus – shows the average age of those requiring such care is 63, while seven in 10 cases are male. Current UK health policies to prevent the spread and impact of coronavirus have focused on the over-70s, especially the frail and those with underlying health conditions.

It follows international research suggesting that these groups will experience the highest death rates – of up to 15 per cent in the over-80s.

However, the national audit suggests many cases so far in the UK involve those who are younger, living independently, without serious health conditions – other than excess weight. The UK research shows seven in 10 cases admitted to critical care units are male, in line with previous studies which have found that the virus is far more deadly in men. These have shown that 1.7 per cent of women who contract the virus will die compared with 2.8 per cent of men.

The study also confirms London as the UK epicentre, with more than half of UK cases in critical care units being treated in the capital. Experts said Britain’s

high levels of obesity could make the virus more deadly, with excess weight linked to a range of health problems, many of which may not have been diagnosed.

The new study by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre shows that 71.7 per cent of those in critical care units are overweight or obese, compared with levels of 64 per cent in the adult population overall.

But medics said it was also possible that pressures on critical care units already meant that younger patients were more likely to be being prioritised, in the hope of better survival.

The research found that of the 196 patients admitted to critical care, 16 had died.

Few of those in the study were found to be suffering from severe underlying health problems, with 4 per cent suffering renal problems, 3.7 per cent found to be immuno-compromised and 3 per cent having lung conditions.

However, scientists stressed that many of those who were obese were likely to be suffering from other health conditions such as diabetes, which might compromise health, but were not recorded in the data.

Yesterday Dr Rosena Allin-khan, an A&E doctor and Labour MP for Tooting, south London, said: “Some of the most startling news seems to be that some of the sickest patients that we have had in this department recently have been young.

‘We have patients who are in their 30s and early 40s who are previously fit and well who are now in the intensive care and fighting for their lives.

“This is a virus which is very, very difficult to predict.”

International research suggests the virus has a mortality rate of almost 15 per cent among those over the age of 80; 8 per cent for those in their 70s, and 3.6 per cent for those in their 60s. This compares with rates of less than 0.5 per