Previous strokes connected to an increased risk of Covid related death
Older age, previous strokes, metastatic cancer and being a man are all characteristics connected to an increased risk of dying with Covid-19, according to a Norwegian study.
The study included 8 809 people who were infected with the coronavirus during the first half of 2020. In this period, 260 Covid-19 related deaths were registered, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, NIPH (in Norwegian), who are behind the study.
The calculated risk of death was around 4 per cent for people who had previously had strokes. For people who had no previous disease, the risk of death was 2,5 per cent.
The study also shows that the risk of dying after being infected with Covid-19 among those who had previously had strokes, was considerably higher among the most elderly.
Increased risk of Covid-death with previous strokes
For patients in the age group of 80-84 years, the calculated risk of death was 26 per cent for those who had previously had a stroke. For those who had no previous disease the corresponding figure was 16 per cent.
For patients with metastatic cancer at the time of diagnosis, the numbers show a calculated risk of dying from Covid-19 of about 7 per cent. For those without such previous disease, the risk of dying was around 2,5 per cent.
“The results for metastatic cancer are based on very few cases, but when seen together with results from other studies it appears that cancer patients with an active cancer disease, and who are actively being treated with chemotherapy, have an increased risk of death after being diagnosed with Covid-19”, says chief physician Rune Kvåle from the Norwegian cardiovascular disease registry.
Age is the most important risk factor
Age is the greatest risk factor for dying after having been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
“The calculated absolute risk of death for a person without any of the registered diseases in the study was 0,2 per cent for people under 60 years, while it was 2,1 per cent for those between 60 and 69 years”, according to the NIPH.
In the age group 70-79, the number was 7,8 per cent, while there was a 16,1 per cent risk of death in the age group 80-84 years.
