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The coronavirus is most deadly if you are older and male — new data reveal the risks

A slew of detailed studies has now quantified the increased risk the virus poses to older people, men, and other groups.
  1. Smriti Mallapaty
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For every 1,000 people infected with the coronavirus who are under the age of 50, almost none will die. For people in their fifties and early sixties, about five will die — more men than women. The risk then climbs steeply as the years accrue. For every 1,000 people in their mid-seventies or older who are infected, around 116 will die. These are the stark statistics obtained by some of the first detailed studies into the mortality risk for COVID-19.

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Nature 585, 16-17 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02483-2

References

  1. Ward, H. et al. Preprint at https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.12.20173690v2 (2020).

  2. Pastor-Barriuso, R. et al. Preprint at https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.06.20169722v1 (2020).

  3. O'Driscoll, M. et al. Preprint at https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.24.20180851v1 (2020).

  4. Perez-Saez, J. et al. Lancet Infect. Dis. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30584-3 (2020).

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