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Fatal connections: COVID-19 mortality, chronic diseases, & unhealthy habits

The relationship between death risk from the novel coronavirus & chronic disease is becoming clear.  At first, age was mentioned as a key risk. But the real culprit for high COVID-19 hospitalization & mortality seems to be "underlying health conditions"--i.e., chronic diseases, which typically worsen health as people age. 

The bottom line, even as we await more data in the coming months: a lot fewer people would be dying from COVID-19, if they had been more active, had healthier nutrition, not smoked, etc.--earlier in life.

Governments have had a very mixed record in responding to the pandemic.  But they can prepare us better for the next time--for future infectious and chronic diseases--by helping us develop healthier habits:

"Among the 105 patients who had died in Italy as of March 4, two-thirds had three or more preexisting conditions. The most common was hypertension, followed by ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus. These chronic illnesses can leave organs degraded and more vulnerable to infection. Additionally, the treatments for these conditions can suppress the immune system, leaving the body susceptible to pathogens.

In a World Health Organization report on China’s outbreak, the case fatality rate in people who reported no chronic diseases was 1.4 percent, but it shot up in groups with these conditions: '13.2% for those with cardiovascular disease, 9.2% for diabetes, 8.4% for hypertension, 8.0% for chronic respiratory disease, and 7.6% for cancer.' ”

              - downloaded 3/26/2020 from: 
                        https://www.vox.com/2020/3/12/21173783/coronavirus-death-age-covid-19-elderly-seniors

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