Age of Coronavirus Deaths
Based on all 72,314 cases of COVID-19 confirmed, suspected, and asymptomatic cases in China as of February 11, a paper by the Chinese CCDC released on February 17 and published in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology has found that the risk of death increases the older you are, as follows:
COVID-19 Fatality Rate by AGE:
*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differs depending on the age group. The percentage shown below does NOT represent in any way the share of deaths by age group. Rather, it represents, for a person in a given age group, the risk of dying if infected with COVID-19.
|
AGE
|
DEATH RATE* |
|
80+ years old
|
14.8%
|
|
70-79 years old
|
8.0%
|
|
60-69 years old
|
3.6%
|
|
50-59 years old
|
1.3%
|
|
40-49 years old
|
0.4%
|
|
30-39 years old
|
0.2%
|
|
20-29 years old
|
0.2%
|
|
10-19 years old
|
0.2%
|
| 0-9 years old |
no fatalities
|
*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%).
In general, relatively few cases are seen among children.
Sex ratio
COVID-19 Fatality Rate by SEX:
*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differs depending on sex. When reading these numbers, it must be taken into account that smoking in China is much more prevalent among males. Smoking increases the risks of respiratory complications.
|
SEX
|
DEATH RATE * |
|
Male
|
2.8%
|
|
Female
|
1.7%
|
*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%).
Pre-existing medical conditions (comorbidities)
Patients who reported no pre-existing (“comorbid”) medical conditions had a case fatality rate of 0.9%. Pre-existing illnesses that put patients at higher risk of dying from a COVID-19 infection are:
COVID-19 Fatality Rate by COMORBIDITY:
*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differs depending on pre-existing condition. The percentage shown below does NOT represent in any way the share of deaths by pre-existing condition. Rather, it represents, for a patient with a given pre-existing condition, the risk of dying if infected by COVID-19.
|
PRE-EXISTING CONDITION
|
DEATH RATE* |
|
Cardiovascular disease
|
10.5%
|
|
Diabetes
|
7.3%
|
|
Chronic respiratory disease
|
6.3%
|
|
Hypertension
|
6.0%
|
|
Cancer
|
5.6%
|
|
no pre-existing conditions
|
0.9%
|
*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%).