We know certain population groups make up the majority of ICU admissions. Someone with male pattern baldness, African Americans/Hispanics, and certain co-existing diseases (high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and diabetes) are more likely to experience critical illness with COVID. African Americans and Hispanics are approximately 5 times more likely to suffer from severe illness.
Who is a High Risk for Severe Illness from COVID
- African Americans and Hispanics
- High blood pressure/Hypertension
- Obesity
Approximately 1/3 of people with COVID will not have any symptoms, 80% experience mild symptoms, and 20% suffer from severe illness. What is the common link between people whose hyper-immune response leads to critical illness with COVID? Age, healthy lifestyle choices, and taking vitamins factor in, but are not the determining factors.
I am a young, healthy female with a strong immune system. I do not smoke. I work out 5-6 days/week. My lungs are strong and healthy. I took vitamin c, d, zinc, lysine, multivitamins before and while I had COVID. Vitamin supplements will not prevent COVID, but they can make you more likely to experience mild symptoms. I thought I would be one of the lucky ones without symptoms or at most, very mild symptoms. So, why did I have weird symptoms and linger on for weeks? Something in my body makeup created a hyperimmune response causing my own body to attack itself.
We do not yet understand why some people are more likely to experience severe illness, but I can share the common trends observed in ICU patients. African Americans or Hispanics, especially those who are overweight (obese) with high blood pressure (hypertension/HTN) are the majority requiring hospitalization. Why is this?
Racial Disparity with COVID Symptoms
Do African Americans and Hispanics share a gene that creates a severe hyperimmune response? Do these same ethnicities have as high of a risk if they are healthy? Are these patients also obese or do they have high blood pressure? TBD! Hopefully, future studies will identify the common link and we can determine why the racial disparity is occurring with COVID symptoms.
High Blood Pressure Linked to Critical Illness from COVID
Why does high blood pressure make you more likely to experience critical illness? The proteins, etc responsible for causing high blood pressure, also cause your immune system to release inflammatory cells and cytokines. At baseline, the inflammatory cells and inflammatory cytokines responsible for heart, lung, kidney damage, and blood clots with COVIDs hyperimmune response are circulating in their body. Yikes!
Obesity Is Causing Critical Illness from COVID
Why is obesity linked to poor outcomes? All that excess fat does more than just add a few pounds. Obesity suppresses your immune system and causes an inflammatory response from the immune system, just like high blood pressure does. People who are overweight have more fat cells, which increases leptin hormone production. Leptin is what makes us feel full, but it also causes inflammation. Combine this with less of the factors that decrease inflammation, double trouble! With chronic inflammation at baseline, being overweight carries more than a few extra pounds, you also carry a high risk for critical illness with COVID.
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