Increased risk factors
People who are overweight or from Asian communities are more likely to develop Covid-19, according to the first major findings from a research project we’ve funded.
The Covidence study, which has surveyed more than 15,000 people about their lifestyle habits every month since May 2020, has revealed various factors which mean some people are more likely to develop the virus than others.
The findings
The study also found that living in overcrowded housing and working in jobs on the frontline – even outside of health and social care – increased the likelihood.
Perhaps less surprisingly, the study confirmed that mixing with other people indoors was also a risk factor. This finding supports measures to reduce the spread of the virus, such as limiting social gatherings and indoor meetings.
By contrast, the study found that being older, male, or having other conditions such as diabetes and heart disease did not in themselves increase a person’s risk of developing Covid-19, despite previous findings suggesting otherwise.
The Covidence study also found people with asthma were less likely to develop Covid-19, which may be because people with allergies tend to have fewer ACE-2 receptors which enable the virus to enter the body.
Find out more
Thank you to our donors for allowing us to fund projects like this. To find out more about the Covidence study, click here.