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Photo: Cecilia Fabiano
The National Board of Health and Welfare report on new risk groups for covid-19 is a relief to many. Stock Photography.
The decision of the National Board of Health and Welfare to identify new risk factors that may lead to a serious disease course in covid-19 is a relief for people with obesity and neurological diseases.
– It is positive that you become an observer of our group, says Eleonor Högström, president of the Parkinson’s Association.
Parkinson’s, MS, cancer, and obesity are now classified as risk factors, along with intellectual disability and disability.
Joanna Uddén Hemmingsson is a physician and responsible for the treatment of obesity at the S: t Göran hospital in Stockholm. She is currently working in a ward with patients who have covid-19.
Uddén Hemmingsson says the National Health Board report on the new risk groups was a relief.
– It is an important decision for a group of patients that is highly stigmatized, both by the health system and by the community. People with obesity have a disease, and the report from the National Board of Health and Welfare makes it easier for them to protect themselves against the coronavirus, as they may need to work at home or do work tasks that make them less vulnerable, he says.
Easier for family members.
Joanna Uddén Hemmingsson also says it will be easier for family members of at-risk groups to demand that the employer work from home.
– I think all obese people now protect themselves a little more. You shouldn’t be overly concerned if you don’t have a BMI over 40, but if you’re 30 or older, it’s important to follow the recommendations of the Public Health Authority to the point.
TT: Can you set the limit of a BMI of 40 too high?
– If it can be. But it is correctly configured with the information and data available now. I think the National Board of Health and Welfare has done a good job, but at the same time it is important that they continue to track people with a slightly lower BMI because they belong to a gray area and may soon be classified as a group risky.
“I was ready”
Even those with neurological disorders are relieved of the report with the new risk groups.
– It is positive that you become an observer of our group, so that you can act sooner, says Eleonor Högström, associate president of the Parkinson’s Association.
She says that people with chronic illnesses in similar situations often think of an extra lap if you are a risk group.
– I was prepared for this to happen. If you have Parkinson’s, all the muscles in your body are affected and this means that the respiratory muscles would hit covid-19 and it would be very difficult for you to breathe.
“Eat and drink properly”
She thinks it is important that family members of risk groups now make sure to minimize the spread of the infection.
– Close relatives should stay home as much as possible so as not to risk passing the infection on to the sick person.
– So I would like to point out that anyone with a neurological disease makes sure to eat and drink properly. “I think how you would deal with a viral infection is crucial, make sure you are as well equipped as you can be,” says Högström.
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