Populations Most At Risk of Dying From Covid-19 and How to Lower the Risk
I took a look at the CDC website on May 26th because I was curious to see what population segments are most at risk of death from a Covid-19 infection. Let's take a look.
First, I took a look at their graph called "Provisional Death Count For Corona Virus Disease. They break it down into age groups. Notice how the number of people dying has been trending down for a while and looks to be vanishing. I am very encouraged by the trend. We are all at a lower risk today.
The Outbreak Is Winding Down
Comorbidities Matter
Next, I wanted to see if they had information on so-called comorbidities. Comorbidities are other medical conditions people have that may strain their ability to fight Covid infections. The average person who succumbs to infection with coronavirus has an average of 2.15 other illnesses. The lowest rate is for the 35-44 age group at 1.97, and the highest is those aged 65-84 at 2.26. As you can see, the numbers are consistent for every age group. This information is terrible if you have two or more underlying medical conditions, but good news if you are healthy.
Age Is a Considerable Risk Factor
Finally, I wanted to find out the average age of those who have died from Covid-19. I crunched all the numbers the CDC has; they give age ranges, not specific ages. They have a group for under one. Then their next group is 1-4, followed by 5-14. They keep to 10-year groups until they get to 75-84, then they have a single group for over 85. There is no specific data beyond 85, so I used 85 as the maximum age, which is not accurate and brings down the average. As a result, I was able to get a range between 67 and 83.7 years of age. The average of the two ages is 75. Whew. I was not sure if I should publish my calculations, but I saw that major news sources are using the exact age as I am. I guess I am better at math than I thought.
What does all of this data mean?
It means that people are at higher risk the older they get, with the average person dying at age 75 or above. Does this mean you should throw caution to the wind and place others and yourself at risk because you are young? Of course not. But it may comfort you to know that you may be at less risk if you are younger.
The main comorbidities are heart conditions, including high blood pressure, Alzheimer's Disease, and dementia, diabetes, and respiratory issues. One seems to need two of them to be at risk of death from a coronavirus infection. Interestingly, obesity was less of a risk than the others I previously mentioned.
How to Lower Your Risk
If you are reading this and have any underlying conditions, now is an excellent time to address them through lifestyle modification, especially if you have two of them. High blood pressure and blood sugar issues can start to reverse in a matter of days with proper sleep, stress management, and diet. Lung problems, when due to smoking, can turn around quickly after quitting. One can lower the risk of heart disease by proper exercise, stress management, diet, and good sleep. I have written extensively on many of these chronic modern ailments, and they are, for the most part, entirely avoidable with the appropriate healthy lifestyle I embrace. Check out my quick-start guide here.