Interesting research results are emerging from various studies, which are so valuable. Dr John Campbell has just summarised some of the findings in his daily update - I highly watching recommend this if you're interested in trying to predict the future.
For instance, a study in New York found that 20% of the population have been infected, without any symptoms. That's such good news as it means the death rate is much lower than originally thought.
It also includes an analysis from patients who died in Italy, and which underlying conditions were present in patients. Obesity scored quite highly - but that might be because most were over 50 years old.
This was very interesting, especially all the data from Italy.
At 25 minutes into it there's a table showing the number and % of positive covid-19 positive patients deaths analysed by comorbidities. The table showed only 3.5% for immune diseases. That's encouraging for us RD warriors. Some of the other comorbidities were very high though. 😢
I’m pleased that these sorts of pieces of analysis are appearing now, even if some of it is gloomy listening.
So yes, ischaemic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, kidney failure, and obesity are not good news.
The trouble with the data is that these conditions are also massively more common than RA and other auto-immune diseases! But when you put his analysis alongside the rheumatology alliance survey I linked the other day that shows that 80% of rheumatology patients that caught covid didn’t even need hospital treatment it paints a much cheerier picture (for those of us who don’t have one of the other conditions of course).
I seem to recall he's not medical doctor but a nursing tutor so take with a bit of salt and wait till he's on the BBC as an expert in infectious diseases. Sorry X
Hi Medway
Agreed, he's not a medical doctor, and doesn't pretend to be, and he's semi-retired.
But the research he's presenting is provided by medical doctors, as reported in the Lancet, so I don't think it's his opinions as such.
Also, since providing these updates from January, he's been spot on with everything he's said, so I believe he's a credible source of information. In my eyes he's been such an inspiration with the amount of work he puts into these updates.
We all have our different opinions on things though and I have absolutely no problem with that. So no need to apologise.
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Research project in Glasgow - Knee OA.
Covid vaccine and methotrexate - interesting article 📰 
Hydroxychloroquine — covid-19
