Young adults with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) generally have mild symptoms, but the risks of complications and death increase significantly for people under 35 with obesity, hypertension and diabetes, according to new research.
An analysis of the clinical profiles of 3,222 young adults (18 to 34 years old; mean age 28.3 years) hospitalized for Covid-19 between April 1 and June 30 at 419 US hospitals revealed that 21% of them required intensive care, 10% required mechanical ventilation and 2.7% died.
Morbid obesity, diabetes and hypertension were the most common risk factors in young adults, and those with more than one of these conditions face risks comparable to those of older adults without pre-existing diseases, a published study reported. in JAMA Internal Medicine, which is the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study found that 36.8% of hospitalized young adults were obese, 24.5% were morbidly obese, 18.2% were diabetes, and 16.1% were hypertensive (morbid obesity, hypertension, and male sex associated with increased risk of mechanical ventilation and death).
Also in India, men with Covid-19 are twice as likely to die as women, and men account for 69% of all deaths, reveals data from the Ministry of Health. People under 40 with Covid-19 account for less than 10% of total Covid-19 deaths in India, with the highest deaths being in the 61-70 age group in both genders.
“People under the age of 40 tend to have a mild illness and most cases can be treated at home or at Covid Care Homes. Those who are hospitalized almost always have comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, and less than 5% require admission to the ICU. But if they do and are placed on a ventilator, their vascular risk increases and their chances of having a heart attack or stroke become the same as those of older adults, ”said Dr. Yatin Mehta, president of the Institute of Critical Care and Anesthesiology, Medanta The Medicity, Gurugram.
Covid-19 has also been called a vascular disease, as it leads to the formation of blood clots in the arteries and veins, which can block the blood supply to the heart, brain, and lungs and lead to strokes, heart attacks and respiratory insufficiency.
“If you are obese, you are likely diabetic or hypertensive, and vice versa, so the risk is compounded,” said Dr. Mehta.
The progression of Covid-19-induced thrombosis is very rapid in young adults, and deaths often occur within 24 hours of hospitalization. “Older adults die of pneumonia and other complications related to Covid-19, but sudden and unexpected death is more common in young adults in their 20s and 30s, whose condition is declining very quickly. In such cases, the cause of death is usually cardiovascular, with abnormal clotting in the brain, lungs, and heart leading to cardiac arrest, ”said Dr. Shiv K Sarin, director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences. from New Delhi.
At Max SuperSpecialty in New Delhi’s Saket, people under the age of 40 account for less than 4.5% of deaths, with 29% of deaths among those between 40 and 59 and 47% of deaths in the age group of 60 to 74 years.
Those over 75 years of age account for 18% of deaths in the hospital. “Young people are mildly ill and rarely need hospitalization, but they need to be isolated to break the chain of infection, which makes testing, follow-up and treatment important, as well as social distancing and wearing masks. “said Dr. Sandeep Budhiraja, clinical director. Max Healthcare.
“We should not look at the absolute number of cases and deaths; those will always be high, given India’s large population. What we need to look at is deaths per million, and India has 56 deaths per million compared to 596 in the US and 61 in Brazil, which is still much lower than other countries, even when you factor in a certain amount of underreporting …, ”Dr. Budhiraja said.
Four young adults, the bottom line is that people with obesity, diabetes, and hypertension share the same risks as older adults. Therefore, they should seek Covid-19 treatment under supervision from the moment they get the test results.
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