Risk factors

The emerging picture of a ‘typical’ patient

Obesity:

Almost 72 per cent of those admitted to critical care with coronavirus were overweight, including 40 per cent who were obese.

Obesity can cause a range of health conditions, which may make the virus more deadly.

In addition, it can exacerbate breathing problems. Gender:

The research found that 70.9 per cent of patients in such units were male, while 29.1 per cent were female. This is in line with previous studies which have found that the virus is far more deadly in men.

These show that 1.7 per cent of women who contract the virus will die compared with 2.8 per cent of men.

Some experts believe the sex imbalance relates to a higher prevalence of smoking or chronic alcohol use among men, while others think men are more likely to have health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Age:

the average age of those being admitted to ITU units suffering from coronavirus was almost 63.

Health experts have been most concerned about older patients, because international studies suggest a mortality rate of around 15 per cent in the over 80s, compared with less than 0.5 per cent in those under 50.

UK medics note that many of those being treated in intensive care units seem younger than they would have expected, a point confirmed by the new data. Underlying conditions:

The study examined the number of those in critical care who were suffering from “severe comorbidities”– conditions that might be expected to shorten their lives.

Here levels were low, with 4 per cent found to be suffering renal problems, 3.7 per cent immunocompromised and 3 per cent suffering from lung conditions.

At the most, 18 of 196 patients were classed as suffering from severe conditions, and even this number may be an overestimate, as some patients may have been counted in more than one category.

However, experts stress that a range of far more common health problems – such as diabetes – were not included in the audit. cent in those below the age of 50. Dr Bharat Pankhania, a clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, said that while many of those found in critical care units in the UK were relatively young, they were not fit and healthy.

He said: “We do know for a fact that a high body mass index does make you more susceptible to quite a few other conditions – heart attack, arthritis.

“This is not an illness of just the old people. Proportionally more old people may be affected with severe illness but that doesn’t mean young people will get away with this scot free.”

Dr Ron Daniels, a critical care consultant at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham, said “This data does suggest people are younger and fitter than you might expect to see in ITU patients with coronavirus. That said, we do have an obesity crisis, and people who are obese will have a greater prediliction to a range of health problems, which wouldn’t be picked up in this research.

“The other possibility here is that this is evidence we are admitting patients to ITU on the basis they have the best chance of survival, which might explain why younger ones are coming through.”

At the weekend NHS watchdogs issued hospitals with guidance urging them to prioritise UK Covid-19 patients not by age but by ranking them against a nine-point “clinical frailty scale”.