India / Over half of those under 40 who died of COVID-19 in Delhi were not co-morbid

New Delhi: Over half of those up to the age of 40 years, who died of Covid-19 in the city, were not suffering from a co-morbid condition.

Of 5,283 people who died of Covid-19 between March 1 and September 30, 650 were in the 0-40 year age group. Of these, 284, or around 43 %, had co-morbidities, while the remaining 57 % did not, data received under a RTI application filed by The Indian Express show. People upto the age of 40 make up a little over 12 % of the total deaths in the city. More than half of the deaths have been in the 50-70 age group.

Dr Neeraj Nischal, associate professor, department of medicine at AIIMS says it is clear that those most vulnerable are the elderly with co-morbid conditions. “The older ones are also more prone to co-morbid conditions. In younger people, this instance is lower. In any case, the only predictable thing about the virus is its unpredictability and everyone needs to take care. Apart from co-morbid conditions, factors like lifestyle and nutrition are also important,” he said. Till the third week of May, after which the Delhi government stopped sharing ages and co-morbidity correlations of those who died, 85 % of deaths were seen in those who had co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension and pneumonia. Over the past several months, this has come down to 55 %, which means 45 % of those who died did not have any co-morbidity.