London: Being a man, having a lower income, a lower level of education, not being married and having been born in low- or middle-income countries: these are factors that are related to an elevated risk of dying from Covid-19, warn researchers .
“We can show that there are independent effects of several separate risk factors that have been raised in debates and news about Covid-19,” said study author Sven Drefahl of Stockholm University in Sweden.
“Therefore, all of these factors are individually associated with a very high risk of dying from Covid-19,” Drefahl added.
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The study is based on data from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare on all registered Covid-19 deaths in Sweden for adults aged 20 and over.
In a study, published in the journal Nature Communications, Drefahl explained that those born abroad generally have a lower mortality than those born in Sweden.
This also applies when the research took into account income and level of education.
The elevated risk of dying from Covid-19 for this group remains after the researchers controlled for circumstances, such as income and education level.
The study shows that being a man, having a lower income and a lower level of education also results in a very high risk of dying from Covid-19. Regarding these aspects, this is also consistent with mortality patterns from other diseases.
The findings showed that men had more than twice the risk of dying from Covid-19 than women.
Single men and women (including those who never married, widows / widowers, and divorcees) had between 1.5 and 2 times the risk of dying from Covid-19 than those who were married.
According to the researchers, men generally have higher mortality at comparable ages, which is considered to be due to a combination of biology and lifestyle.
“The fact that people with little education or low income have higher mortality may be largely due to lifestyle factors, including finances – how much one can afford to prioritize one’s health,” said study author Gunnar Andersson .
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“In a similar way, we can explain the high mortality from Covid-19 for these groups,” Andersson added.
Several previous studies have also shown that single and unmarried people have higher mortality from various diseases, the research team noted.
(IANS)
