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Urgent investigation into obesity’s link to Covid-19 deaths: Matt Hancock directs health officials to discover why certain groups, such as overweight, men, and ethnic minorities are more likely to die
- Matt Hancock ordered health officials to track victim records
- He said it was too early to suggest that weight was a factor, but the data suggests a link.
- Researchers warned that obesity increased the risk of dying by 37 percent.
- Here we show you how to help people affected by Covid-19
An urgent review has been launched to determine whether obesity, ethnicity, and gender increase the risk of death from coronavirus.
Matt Hancock ordered health officials to trace the records of thousands of pandemic victims.
The Health Secretary said it was too early to confirm that weight was a factor, but that “data from around the world” suggested a link.
Matt Hancock ordered health officials to trace the records of thousands of pandemic victims.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool warned last week that obesity increased the risk of dying from the virus by 37 percent.
About three in ten adults in England are clinically obese, with a body mass index greater than 30, a rate among the highest in the western world.
And the death toll from the virus in Britain, which rose to 28,734 yesterday, is second only to Italy’s among European nations. Scientists believe that obese patients are more at risk of serious complications because their immune systems wear out after repairing cells damaged by excess fat.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool warned last week that obesity increased the risk of dying from the virus by 37 percent.
Hancock said: ‘Our knowledge of this virus grows daily and it seems that some groups are more affected than others.
‘Emerging data from around the world suggests that there could possibly be a link between obesity and the impact of Covid-19 on people.
“It is too early to say whether obesity itself is a factor or condition associated with it, or if there is not yet enough data to rule it out, so we must approach any assumption with caution.”
About three in ten adults in England are clinically obese, with a body mass index greater than 30, a rate among the highest in the western world.
“Every death from this virus is a tragedy and behind each statistic there is a name, a loss and a family that will never be the same again.”
The review was announced as:
- Deaths from the virus increased by 288 on Sunday, the lowest daily figure since the end of March;
- A leaked government plan revealed that millions face a grim return to work in which social contact remains severely restricted;
- New figures revealed that 6.3 million people have their wages subsidized by the state under the leave scheme;
- The deputy chief medical officer raised hopes of an effective antibody test, saying that the ‘overwhelming majority’ of recovered patients produced antibodies;
- Downing Street confirmed that Nightingale Hospital in London will be out of control;
- Hancock revealed that 85,186 tests were carried out on Sunday: on the second day of execution, the figure fell below its target of 100,000;
- Conservative MPs increased pressure on ministers to ease the blockade; n But Nicola Sturgeon said it was “very likely” to remain in place for another three weeks because the infection rate was still high;
- The ministers urged the use of contactless payments in stores with electronically paid merchants;
- Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said China had “questions to answer” about the pandemic;
- Minister Therese Coffey revealed that 1.8 million have signed for Universal Credit since the crisis began;
- Residents of the Isle of Wight were urged to enroll in a pilot scheme of a virus tracking application.
The review will be overseen by Public Health England and authorities will examine thousands of case reports of patients who died of the coronavirus.
They will also analyze the health records of these people to identify possible risk factors, in particular obesity, ethnicity, gender, and geographic location.
The government expects to publish the results later this month and they will be used to decide whether “additional measures” should be taken to protect these groups.
This could include additional social distancing precautions or special advice for frontline NHS personnel who are considered at risk.
Officials are also particularly concerned that black and ethnic minority groups appear to be more susceptible to the virus; The figures show that death rates are two and a half times higher.
Professor Kevin Fenton of Public Health England said last night: ‘Having a precise understanding of how diseases affect different groups of people is a very important issue and a fundamental part of the role of PHE.
Detailed and careful work is being done so that we can better understand it and explore the possible reasons for any disparity.
“The increasing evidence and concern around the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on black and minority ethnic groups highlights an important focus of this review.”
Obesity is known to increase the risk of death from cancer and other diseases, and scientists believe the condition weakens the immune system as cells become inflamed.
The data shows how the number of coronavirus deaths in Britain has increased at a much faster rate than in Italy, but has slowed in the past two days.
