Many of us fall ill with some form of illness every year, whether it be a cold, a sinus infection or the flu. While most of these illnesses are manageable and easy to forget about recovery, you may want to take a look at your medical history during the COVID pandemic because it can be an indicator of how your body will handle the virus. A new Harvard study found that having a previous case of a particularly common illness can put you at an increased risk of dying from COVID. Read on to find out if you are at risk and for more information on severe coronavirus cases. If you did, you are twice as likely to develop severe COVID.
Harvard researchers recently discovered that a previous case of pneumonia could be a strong indicator that you will have a more serious – or even deadly – case if you are infected with COVID. In his new study, published in the journal NPJ Digital Medicine on February 4, they removed data from the medical records of nearly 17,000 COVID patients. Research has shown that, after age, pneumonia was the second biggest risk factor for COVID death. Of those who died of COVID, almost 49% had a history of pneumonia.
“A history of pneumonia, which is rarely questioned in typical epidemiological studies, was one of the most important risk factors for predicting mortality from COVID-19,” said the researchers in their study. And for more ways to reduce your risk, find out why these 3 vitamins can save you from severe COVID, study found.
Pneumonia is a very common disease in the USA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 1.3 million Americans were diagnosed with pneumonia in 2017. The agency says that although the majority of people who contract pneumonia in the country are adults, this lung infection can affect people of all ages. And for more concerns about the coronavirus, know that Dr. Fauci has just issued this new alert on COVID.
According Cheers, many people don’t even realize they’ve had a case of pneumonia – especially if they’ve had a mild case. Zachary Strasser, MD, one of the study’s authors and a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard at Massachusetts General, told Bloomberg News that it is even common for cases of chronic pneumonia to go undiagnosed.
According to the American Lung Association, this may be due to the fact that “pneumonia can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are very variable and are often very similar to those seen in a cold or flu”. Symptoms of pneumonia include cough, fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea and confusion. And for the most up-to-date news from COVID, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
The CDC has created a list of medical conditions that increase the risk of serious illness or death from COVID, but pneumonia is not one of them. However, as Harvard researchers note, a previous case of pneumonia may actually be an indicator of an underlying condition that is included in the list of risk factors.
In fact, the CDC says that you are more likely to get pneumonia if you smoke or have underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. And smoking, diabetes and heart disease are listed by the CDC as conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID. And for more information from this agency, find out why the CDC warns against using these 6 face masks.