Researchers Look at Risk Factors in COVID-19 That Hint How The Pandemic Will Run Its Course

The SARS-CoV2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, is a new pathogen with unique characteristics that are still poorly understood. However, clinicians dealing with the virus learned much and have had insights. Such insights are valuable for regions with infections that have not yet peaked. Here are some of the findings or risk factors regarding this pandemic.

COVID-19 and asthma

As the disease started to occur in the US, asthma has been assumed to be an essential risk factor in COVID-19 severity and deaths. However, according to the NYSDOH tracker, asthma is not included in the list of top 10 co-morbidities in COVID-19 mortalities, and only 5% of New Yorkers with the disease have asthma, even though a full 10% of the New York population is asthmatic. On the other hand, another respiratory ailment called COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is at rank 7. More research is needed to solve this puzzle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending continued asthma medication in asthma patients.

COVID-19 and senior citizens

For geriatrics or the older population, the disease is particularly fatal, because 80% of US mortalities are individuals beyond 65 years of age. Nursing homes and senior residents within and around the New York City area were badly hit because seniors there usually live close together, and their dining areas are communal.

In the elderly population of Texas, the Plains states, and Florida, residents in rural counties are more numerous than in other states. Hence, the risk for them in these places is much higher since the disease can progress very rapidly, and a suitable medical facility could be too far.

The issue of obesity

COVID-19 patients that are severely obese have a higher risk of hospitalization, as is true for many other diseases. Data showed how obesity itself, and not its associated conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, is the second most significant risk factor next to age for COVID-19 hospitalization.

Clinicians have not yet determined the reason why obesity exacerbates COVID-19. Abdominal fat and obesity are more common in men, which explains why they are more affected by COVID-19. Excess fat limits the capability of the lungs to expand and decreases available volume in the chest. Besides, obesity-associated low-grade chronic inflammation could increase inflammatory cytokines, which exacerbate the symptoms of COVID-19.

There is also speculation that undiagnosed early-stage heart, respiratory, and other obesity-associated disease complications also exacerbate the COVID-19 disease.

According to the CDC, obesity is a problem in roughly 20% or 78 million Americans, with 24 million individuals having severe obesity. The obesity rate in the country is lowest in New York City, while almost one-third of the population in the South and Midwest states are obese.

All of these findings suggest that the burden on US health systems in areas that have not yet had peak COVID-19 cases could be higher than what the country has so far experienced.

These puzzles reflect the view of clinicians who deal with the disease each hour, from the emergency room to the intensive care unit. Researchers are searching for drugs, while epidemiologists are studying charts and models, to try to piece the puzzle together and find a cure or vaccine that can end the pandemic. The efforts of everyone is needed to complete the picture and control COVID-19.