Hospitalized Covid-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or if they are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, say researchers.

The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalized Covid-19 patients in 613 hospitals across the country to determine the link between certain common patient characteristics and the risk of dying from Covid-19.

"Hospitalised patients who were obese, had hypertension or poorly managed diabetes had a higher risk of dying compared to those who did not have these conditions," said study authors from the University of Maryland in the US.

Those aged 20 to 39 with these conditions had the biggest difference in their risk of dying compared to their healthier peers.

"Predicting which hospitalized Covid-19 patients have the highest risk of dying has taken on urgent importance as cases and hospitalizations in the US continue to surge to record high numbers during the month of December," said study author Anthony D Harris.

Overall, nearly 19 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients died from their infection with the lowest mortality among pediatric patients, which was less than two percent.

Mortality rates increased with each decade of life with the highest mortality, 34 percent, among those aged 80 and older.

"Older patients still have the highest risk of dying, but younger patients with obesity or hypertension have the highest risk of dying relative to other patients their age without these conditions," said study lead author Katherine E Goodman from the University of Maryland.

"Doctors may want to be paying extra attention to these younger patients when they're hospitalized to ensure they detect any complications quickly," Goodman added.

The researchers also found some good news in their study findings. Death rates among hospitalized patients have fallen dramatically since the early weeks of the pandemic in April.

"This is likely due to the availability of new treatments and more knowledge in the medical community on how to properly manage and care for hospitalized patients," the authors noted.

(This story was published from a syndicated feed. Only the headline and picture has been edited by FIT)