Covid-19 is an actual word of Coronavirus 2019. Coronaviruses are a wide family of viruses common worldwide.
In humans and animals, they may cause respiratory disease. The same was originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.
Coronavirus outbreaks have generated worldwide concern in the past two decades, including a one with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and more recently with MERS in 2012.
Covid-19 is a SARS-CoV-2 disease which can trigger an infection in the respiratory system.
It can affect the upper trachea, e.g. Sinuses, nose and throat, and/or lower trachea, viz. Windpipe and pulmonary. Serious cases can lead to severe respiratory diseases, including pneumonia.
The WHO declared a global health emergency in connexion with the Covid-19 outbreak on 30 January 2020.
It was declared a global pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020.
Risk Factors of Covid-19 Infection
The risk factors that are likely to cause by Covid-19 infection are the following.
Chronic asthma and lung disease
Individuals with asthma may attract Covid-19 more likely.
Data from the hospital demonstrates the more actual consequences of serious complications in respiratory patients.
Since yet there is no cure, it is important to ensure your protection against infection. The same applies to other chronic pulmonary conditions.
Serious conditions of the heart
Covid-19 usually causes pulmonary damage and leads to an inflammatory response that in two ways places stress on the cardiovascular system.
Blood oxygen levels decrease by the pulmonary infects and also blood pressure drops due to the inflammatory effects of the virus itself.
In these cases, the cardiac beat is faster and supplies major parts of the body with little oxygen.
Individuals with cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, and advanced types of right rhythmic cardiomyopathy, and as well as patients with congenital cyanotic cardiomyopathy have the greatest risk, according to the European Cardiology Society.
Age 65 years and older
People of 65 years of age and older are more at risk of Covid-19 infection as their immunity falls as their age grows.
Some related abnormalities such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are more likely to occur in older people.
Also, the course and prevalence of the disease tend to be severe, leading to higher deaths.
It can however be reduced by appropriate preventive measures to reduce its transmission among the elderly population.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a major risk factor that can lead to hospitalization and mortality for Covid-19 patients.
If diabetes patients do not manage their diabetes properly and experience blood sugar fluctuations, they will usually be at risk for many complications related to diabetes.
Apart from diabetes, the risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, like other viral infections may worsen because your body becomes impaired in its capacity to fight infection.
In people with diabetes, viral infections may also increase inflammation or internal swelling. This is also caused by High-level blood sugars and both of them can lead to more serious complications.
Chronic kidney disease
People, who have chronic kidney disease, are more vulnerable to infection.
Dialytic patients may have weaker immune systems which make it more difficult to fight infections.
Nonetheless, the patients with kidneys disease have to continue regular dialysis treatments and take appropriate precautionary measures as the healthcare provider suggests.
People with kidney transplants require anti-rejection drugs that keep the immune system less active, also referred to as immune suppressants medicines.
Liver Disease
The risk for serious COVID 19 diseases is higher for older adults and persons of any ages with severe underlying medical conditions including those with liver disease.
Some patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have had increased levels of liver enzymes — like alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) — that indicate their livers are temporarily damaged.
In patients with serious COVID-19 disease, liver damage is also more common.
However, there is a further need for research to identify whether hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, fatty liver, and other chronic liver disease patients with COVID-19 have a greater chance of suffering from liver damage than patients with COVID-19 without liver disease.
Immune-compromised people
The immune system of an individual of any age group can be compromised.
Cancers, smoking, bone marrows and organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled AIDS, and long-term use of corticosteroids and other immune debilitation medicines can be the conditions that can lead to a person being immune-compromised.
Some reports indicate that death is probably due to a cytokine storm when the immune system overdrives and therefore damages even healthy tissue that could lead to multiple organ failure, sepsis, and even death in some patients with Covid-19.
Severe obesity
There is a growing number of reports that indicate that obesity is associated with more severe Covid-19 infection and mortality.
Obesity decreases the cardiovascular protective reservoirs and undermines the immune regulation that tends to help the disease progress to a critical stage.
Research has shown that among people in New York City with Covid-19, aged less than 60, those with BMIs between 30-34 Kg / m2 and above 35 Kg / m2 were 1.8 times more likely to be admitted in critical care than people with a BMI less than 30 Kg / m2.
A new study published in the 2020 study in Diabetes Care found that the probability of serious pneumonia in obese patients with Covid-19 is two and a half times greater than those who are not obese.
Final Words
Certain people who catch COVID 19 are highly at risk for severe infection.
All must take measures to prevent them or others from catching them or disseminating them.
However, people from a category of high risk need to take all the necessary and appropriate precautions to protect themselves.
