People of South Asia are probably at a much higher risk of dying after getting infected with the coronavirus on COVID-19 in hospital than any other ethnic group, a new study claims. As per the research, South Asian people had a 20 percent higher chance of dying in hospital due to coronavirus compared with white people, whereas other ethnic groups were no more likely to die.
The study that was led by the researchers at the University of Edinburgh was conducted with the involvement of four out of every 10 patients with COVID-19 in the UK, across 260 hospitals. According to the researchers, the chances of South Asian people falling prey to the virus can most likely be linked to diabetes, whereas poverty or slight genetic differences could also be a factor for the results.
South Asian People Have Higher Chances of Dying From COVID-19
"The South Asian group in hospital compared with white population look very different," Professor Ewen Harrison of the University of Edinburgh was quoted by the Evening Standard. "They're 12 years younger on average, less likely to have other chronic conditions like dementia, but much more likely to have diabetes," he added.
Around 40 percent of the hospital patients of South Asia had diabetes of some form compared with the 25 percent of the white groups. Diabetes can make people more vulnerable of getting infected and some internal organs can also get compromised due to the blood sugar-related disease.
Professor Harrison mentioned, "This study firmly supports the premise that ethnicity is really important in Covid-19, and therefore ethnicity should be really important in policy decisions around Covid-19."
"There are many more south Asian people in front-facing jobs, particularly in health and social care, who are at increased risk of catching the virus, may be at increased risk of getting high doses of the virus, which might increase the severity of the disease," he added. The study further showed that white people are less likely to require ventilation than other groups.
The deadly novel virus has created a major stir around the world and has infected more than 8.5 million people globally claiming the lives of over 450,000 people in more than 170 countries. The US is the worst affected nation followed by Brazil and Russia.
