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(CNN) – US President Donald Trump, who announced that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus, has several risk factors for more severe symptoms of COVID-19.
He is in a high risk group simply because of his age – he is 74 years old – and his weight. Trump is clinically obese, and obesity is a risk factor for a more serious form of the disease.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people in the 65-74 age range face a five times greater risk of hospitalization and a 90 risk times higher death rate from covid-19 compared to young adults ages 18-29.
Based on his April physical, CNN reported in June that President Trump weighed 244 pounds (110 kilograms) and is 6.3 feet tall (1.92 meters). That gives him a body mass index of 30.5, which makes him technically, albeit slightly, obese. Obesity triples the risk of hospitalization from covid-19, according to the CDC.
Trump is also a man, and men are more likely to die or suffer serious illness from coronavirus than women, the top health agency reported.
But it is not known if you have other medical conditions that could put you in a high risk group.
Physical exam
According to her last physical exam, her blood pressure is slightly elevated. There is no evidence that you have cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, or other conditions that are known to put people at higher risk.
The president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said his last physical was performed in April and “there were no major findings or changes to report.”
However, not everything is known about Trump’s health.
Trump made an unannounced visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on November 16, 2019 and spent a little over two hours undergoing health tests as part of his physical, a move that was remarkably secret.
In the memo on Trump’s physical exam released in June, the White House doctor said Trump underwent additional tests at the presidential residence after visiting Walter Reed.
The risks of the first lady
In her 50s, First Lady Melania Trump is not in the age category at highest risk for more severe COVID-19 symptoms, but as people age, the risk of becoming seriously ill increases, according to the CDC.
People ages 50 to 64 have a three times higher risk of being hospitalized for coronavirus and a 30 times higher risk of death compared to people ages 18 to 29.
The first lady, a former model, says she maintains a healthy diet and is in good shape.
In May 2018, he underwent a procedure for what the White House described as a benign kidney condition.
The administration did not elaborate on the condition or the operation, described as an embolization procedure.
Such procedures involve guiding a tube into an artery to non-invasively cut off blood flow to growths or tumors.
People with kidney disease at any stage are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, according to the National Kidney Foundation and the CDC. But it is unclear whether the first lady has kidney disease and, if so, how serious it is.
Little else is known about his overall health.
Waiting
Most people never get seriously ill from the coronavirus and it could be several days before it is clear whether Trump or the first lady will experience symptoms and, if they do, how severe they could be.
“It will take time to see what will happen to the president and the first lady,” former Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen told CNN’s Don Lemon.
“It will be a week or so before they develop symptoms,” said Wen, an emergency room physician at George Washington Medical Center.
“Between the time they develop symptoms and the time they get seriously ill, we’re talking a week or two after that,” Wen said.
“So, we will be waiting a while to see what happens to the president of the United States.”
Shelby Lin Erdman contributed to this story.
